Topsy-Turvy
by What a Rubber Chicken
Summary: Adrien makes a discovery that sends him running—straight to Marinette's balcony! She, of course, tries to help. But will it turn out all right in the end, or will his whole world turn upside-down? (Spoilers for Season 2 - Part 1 -up to Captain Hardrock.) My submission for Adrinette April.
1. Chapter 1 - Hide

Hello and welcome to my submission for Adrinette April! (Yes, I know we're already halfway through. Yes, I am still working on everything else.) You can find this and other marvelous works over at Tumblr under the tag adrinetteapril2018

I decided to make all the prompts into one big story, so here ya go! (Some chapters will have more adrinette interaction than others, be warned!)

As always, feedback and constructive criticism are highly-encouraged and very, very welcome! (I expect I'll make a few people mad by the end of this...)

* * *

 **Topsy-Turvy**

 **Chapter 1 - Hide**

Chat Noir landed on a familiar balcony and stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He tried to ignore the beeping of his ring as he frantically looked around to see if there was a better place to hide nearby.

There wasn't.

One of the bad things about being homeschooled most of his life was that he didn't really know a whole lot of places in Paris where he could go if he was in trouble. Sure, he'd tried to see as many sights as possible as Chat, but public areas and tourist traps weren't good hiding places for a teenager on the run.

The best place he knew outside his own home was the school, but he _knew_ it had security cameras that monitored it at night. (Mr. Damocles had been very proud of the brand-new system, and had informed the whole school that any suspicious activity or vandalism it recorded would be punished severely.)

His ring gave yet another pitiful beep, and Chat sighed and hid in the shadows as the magic collapsed around him. Plagg fell into his waiting hands, an annoyed glare already focused on the blond.

"You can't be serious," he whined. "We'll never last on the street! How're you gonna keep me _fed_?"

"I raided your fridge before I left," Adrien whispered, handing the kwami a wedge of camembert to shut him up. "And I have some cash savings. We'll make it, at least for a little while."

"Right, because one of the most-well-known faces in all of Paris is just gonna be able to mingle in a crowd, huh?" Plagg said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll think of something!" Adrien insisted. "Now, keep your voice down, or we'll be—"

The hatch of the balcony suddenly opened, and a familiar head peeked out. Adrien shied into the shadows, but she'd already seen him.

"—heard."

"ADRIEN?!" Marinette exclaimed, her eyes going wide. Adrien quickly shushed her, looking around frantically to see if anybody could see them. Her balcony actually seemed quite private. That was a relief.

"What are you doing up here?—Wait, how did you _get_ up here?!" Marinette whispered, coming up the rest of the way.

"I… climbed?" Adrien lied, trying for an innocent smile. "I have this rock wall at home," he explained quickly, when his classmate raised an eyebrow, "so, I have lots of practice… and it wasn't really that hard..." He bit his lip, trailing off, unwilling to lie to her anymore.

To his relief, Marinette nodded.

"Yeah, Nino told me about your 'amazing' room," she said. "But… okay, why are you _here_?!"

Adrien sighed and hung his head. He didn't want to involve her if he could. Or, at least, as little as possible.

"I don't really want to get into it," he admitted. "Let's just say… things with my father are not going… well."

Marinette studied him for a moment. Nino had told her about Adrien's bad relationship with his father, and she'd seen evidence of it as Ladybug, but things must be _bad_ if it had him running away from home in the middle of the night. And he had to be running. He even had a duffle bag!

"So, you… came here?" she asked, unsure why he'd chosen to run to _her balcony_ of all places.

"My dad will suspect Nino immediately," Adrien pointed out. "I couldn't go there. Same with Chloe. And Alya has curious little siblings. I'd likely be found there too."

 _He had a point_ , Marinette thought. She didn't have any siblings, Manon was never allowed on her balcony when she was over, and she didn't have any sort of pets that would alert her to a stranger on her roof (unless you counted Tikki, but Marinette would never consider her kwami to be a kind of pet, and besides, Adrien didn't know about her).

"Can I please just spend the night up here?" Adrien begged. "I promise I won't be any trouble and, if you want, I'll be gone as soon as it's morning!" He hated having to impose on her, but it'd been a loooong day, full of emotional turmoil, and he was so tired….

"Honestly, Adrien, what kind of girl do you think I am?!" Marinette asked, offended. Adrien felt his hopes sink. "You're not staying on my balcony!"

"Okay, then. I'll just g—"

"You can stay in my room, where it's warmer."

"Wha—REALLY?" Adrien asked, flabbergasted. "B-but, you—you're—"

"You can sleep on my chaise lounge," Marinette said, opening the hatch to her room. "It's actually pretty comfortable; I've napped on it a lot. With a few extra blankets and pillows—I assume you don't want my parents to know you're here?" she added, looking up at him.

Adrien gulped. "No, thank you." The fewer people who knew, the better.

"Well, then, come on down and help me get things set up—wait! On second thought, give me a moment to clean up a little!" she hastily corrected herself, closing the hatch behind her.

"O-kay?" Adrien said, confused at her erratic mood swings. And her offer of shelter. And really, Marinette just confused him on all levels.

"We're really gonna stay here?" Plagg asked, still partially hidden and sounding doubtful.

"Do you have a better plan?" Adrien asked.

"Forget what you saw and go back to the lap of luxury?" Plagg suggested. "It's the plan with the most cheese. That makes it the best plan."

"You know I can't do that," Adrien argued, forcing the images out of his head again.

"Done!" Marinette's head popped up again. "C'mon down! We'll get your bed ready."

"Thank you, Marinette," Adrien said, following her down into the room and pretty sure those words couldn't even _begin_ to describe how grateful he was right now. "Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

"Of course not," Marinette laughed easily. "It's just a few blankets and pillows. As long as we're quiet, we won't wake up my parents. They're early to bed, early to rise. A baker's life."

"They won't come check on you?" Adrien asked, still a bit uncertain.

"Nope. I'm not an early riser _at all_ and they know it," Marinette said. "My mom will usually call for me if I'm about to be late for school, but if I set my alarm, it should be fine."

"I'll set mine too," Adrien said, reaching for his phone. Then he realized—he didn't have it. He'd seen enough real-crime dramas to have left it at home when he escaped. Marinette must've read the expression on his face, because she laughed again.

"Feels weird not to have your phone, doesn't it? I've broken mine a couple times when it couldn't be immediately replaced. It felt like I'd lost an arm or something!" she giggled.

"It really does," Adrien murmured, looking away.

"Hey," Marinette said softly, touching his arm, "it's gonna be okay. We'll get through this together, all right?"

For the first time that night, Adrien felt himself relax and smile.

"Thank you, Marinette."

* * *

End Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2 - Gaming

**Chapter 2 - Gaming**

"PLAYER 2 WINS!"

"Aww, no way!" Marinette moaned, dramatically flopping over her controller.

"Yes!" Adrien cheered, pumping his fist. He casually leaned back in his chair with a smug expression. "Looks like I've finally caught up to the champ."

"Whatever! That last one was a fluke!"

"Oh yeah? Wanna go again?"

"You're on!" Marinette said, eagerly starting up the game again. She glanced sideways at her guest. "But after this, we'll take a break for snacks, okay? And we did get homework today in class. You can copy mine if you want. Just the questions, though! You gotta do your own work!"

"Sure! Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said with a grin. The grin soon faded though, even as they started yet another round of Ultimate Mecha Strike III. One of the hardest parts of running away was the fact that—even though he was technically free—he was more trapped than ever before.

It wasn't like he could leap off her balcony as Chat Noir whenever he wanted to. He certainly couldn't contact his friends. Going to school was out of the question. He even had to sneak around to use the bathroom!

He really needed to find a better solution.

Finding sanctuary with Marinette had been an unexpected boon; he was pretty sure he never would've lasted the first night without her. But, going back home… well, who knows what would've happened.

And Marinette… well, she was as cunning as she was sweet. She'd snuck him food and drinks, had pointed out several hiding spots for him if anybody came up to her room, and had even arranged it so he could take a shower, while her parents thought she was in there instead.

He owed her more than he could say.

And he did mean that literally.

He couldn't tell her what had actually driven him away from the mansion and his own comfortable room. She would be in too much danger. Heck, she might be in danger even now. God knows, his father hadn't exactly showed _restraint_ in the past—

 _Nope. Not gonna think about that._

He'd tried calling Ladybug, but every time he did, she wasn't suited up. He couldn't bring himself to say the words over their communicators; he didn't even want to think about what had happened. He swallowed as his gut churned even now.

On screen, his character was thoroughly thrashed into the ground.

"Not even trying, huh?" Marinette said with a smirk—which disappeared as soon as she saw how pale he was. "Adrien? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Wha—? Oh, um yeah, I'm fine," Adrien said sheepishly. "I guess I'm a little hungry," he said, fishing for excuses. "Maybe we can go ahead and have that snack?"

"Sure!" Marinette said brightly. "Any requests? More camembert?" she laughed. Adrien flushed.

"It's really… flavorful," he said, trying to sound defensive of what he'd assured her was his favorite snack. The longer he could keep his stash together, the longer Plagg would last, and the longer he could try to resolve this somehow.

"All right, but we're having something sweet too!" Marinette laughed, going downstairs.

As soon as she was clear, Adrien ran for the stairs up to her balcony. Once he was out in the fresh air, he transformed. His stomach dropped when he saw he had a message from Ladybug. Quickly, he checked it.

"Messaging me to say you want to meet up ASAP doesn't really work if you don't stay transformed, Chat," Ladybug sounded annoyed in his ear and he winced. "Besides, I've got something important that's come up today. So, either tell me the problem or meet me tonight at the Eiffel Tower at 9. I should be able to get away by then."

 _The problem is I'm afraid to go home and I may have just endangered the sweetest girl on the planet,_ Chat thought as he let the magic go again. No sense in wasting Plagg's time.

 _C'mon, Adrien. This isn't a game!_ he scolded himself as he climbed back down into Marinette's room. _You just need to face the music. Face Ladybug. Face your—_

 _Nope. Still don't wanna think about it._

"Adrien, you like lemonade, right?" Marinette said, coming back up the stairs.

He put on a smile. "I love lemonade!"

* * *

As she handed out snacks, Marinette was determined to get to the bottom of this. Somehow. _The problem was,_ she screamed inside, _Adrien didn't trust her enough to tell her what was really wrong!_

 _Was he actually in trouble, or just throwing a typical teenager fit? No, that wasn't Adrien! Oh God, was his father_ _ **hurting**_ _him at home?_ (That was hard to wrap her head around, frankly. She'd always known her idol was a stoic man, but abusive? No, that couldn't be right.)

This would be so much easier if she could just suit up and tell him that she would beat the crap out of whatever was bothering him. Marinette knew it wasn't very superheroine-like, but after seeing Adrien pale and scared and _shaking on her rooftop_ , she was ready to do something drastic.

 _Or really, she was willing to do anything at all to help him_ , she mused, as he thanked her for the snacks again. Even something as little as offering him shelter had brought a smile to his face. And she wanted to see that smile light up the room again.

So, whatever it took. Cookies, games, a hug, a place to sleep, or an offer to bury a body somewhere nobody would find it, she was ready.

Problem was, _Adrien_ wasn't ready. She could tell from the frantic way he kept trying to distract himself. She'd let him use her computer while she was at school, but instead of keeping track of the police who had to be searching for him, she was pretty sure he'd simply played mind-numbing games all day.

Despite whatever it was he was hoping for, this wasn't a game. And they were running out of time.

As if on cue, the doorbell downstairs rang. Marinette held her breath, for some reason _certain_ that this couldn't be good. Sure enough….

"Marinette," her mother called. "You have some visitors who'd like to talk to you about a friend from school!"

Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances.

"Nathalie," he said, swallowing.

"Go hide," Marinette said firmly, taking charge. "I'll be right down!" she called to her mother. Then, after checking that Adrien was hidden behind a sheet that she'd artfully made to look like an innocent pile of pillows, Marinette headed downstairs.

This might not be a game, but she was still determined to win.

* * *

End Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 3 - Fencing

_(There's a nod to the other meaning of the prompt in here, if you care to find it!)_

 **Chapter 3 – Fencing**

 _This. Was. Torture._

Adrien tried to stop fidgeting. He did. But every time he got the least bit distracted from holding himself down, his knee would start bouncing again. He was currently clenching and unclenching his fist slowly, trying to focus on it instead of what was happening downstairs.

 _You'd think with years of modeling under his belt, he could freaking SIT STILL!_

He took a calming breath and counted down from ten.

Nathalie and the Gorilla were here, asking Marinette questions about whether or not she'd seen him lately. Apparently, his father was too proud to go to the police. Or he was afraid they'd search the mansion first… Adrien snorted _. Yeah,_ _ **that**_ _wouldn't be good._

He hoped they didn't question Marinette too harshly. He was sure she'd stick to "nope, I haven't seen him since the last time he was at school" for her story, but… as Alya had once said, she didn't have a very good poker face.

 _Please don't let her give me away,_ he silently pleaded. _Please, please don't let her give me away!_

The bolt of fabric hiding him suddenly lifted away.

"Hey—"

Adrien yelped.

( _It was a very manly yelp,_ he would insist later. And Marinette would, of course, agree. But again, her _poker face_ ….)

Marinette giggled. "It's just me, scaredy-cat," she teased. "Your father's evil henchmen have left. I think they bought it. But geez, you'd think I was dealing in stolen goods with all the questions they had! I even let them look at my messages to prove you hadn't tried to contact me. It's not my fault I didn't know you didn't have your phone on you," she added innocently.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said fervently.

She waved it away as nothing.

"Nathalie said she and your bodyguard were going to try the Kubdels next," she said. "So, we should be okay for a while."

Adrien smiled. That meant it might be safe for him to go outside! Because, while he was grateful to Marinette and her room for shelter, it just wasn't the open space he was used to.

"Will you be all right here for a bit?" Marinette was asking him before he realized it. "Alya's organizing a search party for you, and it'll look suspicious if I don't go join them for a while. Don't worry, I'll pretend I'm 'sick at the thought of something happening to you' or something," she added with a wink.

His stomach dropped a bit at the thought of her leaving again. Her being gone for school was bad enough. Right now, Marinette was his only contact to the outside world. Adrien gave her a pouty face.

Marinette laughed. "Sorry, but I've grown immune to puppy-dog eyes, Adrien," she teased, tweaking him on the nose. The playful contact startled him, and he smiled at her.

"Fiiiiiine," he said, flopping in his chair and imitating Plagg's best exasperated drawl. "But you'd better have some good snacks for us when you get back!"

"Deal," Marinette said, already heading down the stairs.

Alone again.

Adrien gave one last pouty sigh, and then rolled the chair over to Marinette's computer. Might as well pass the time by checking his email. He hadn't done it in a while.

Messages from his father, demanding he come home. _Deleted_.

Messages from Natalie, pleading with him to come home. _Deleted_.

Messages from his Chinese tutor, telling him to keep up with his homework, even while he was away. _Deleted, with a few spoken words in Chinese that he wasn't supposed to know._

Messages from his friends, asking if he was okay. _He'd answer those later._

An automatic notice from his calendar, reminding him that his fencing class was going to be learning a new move today— _AWWWW! He'd been waiting all month for that! It had looked so cool in the video Mr. D'Argencourt had showed them too!_

Adrien grumbled and sank into his chair. He was so tired of being inside all the time! He felt trapped. Claustrophobic. Surely there was some way for him to—

Wait. Maybe he could make this work.

 _Fencing!_

As long as he kept his mask on, nobody had to realize it was him! He'd just stick to the back of the class and not talk! Simple!

"Kid, are you crazy?" Plagg said, as soon as they got up to the balcony.

"I'm getting there, doing nothing all day," Adrien said as he eyed the distance between the two buildings, looking for the best place to land.

"So, go for a run as Chat! Don't you need to call Ladybug again any—"

" _Claws out_!" Adrien called firmly, ending the conversation. "I'll call her later," he promised the kwami currently trapped in his ring. Right now, his mental health was more important.

He bounded over to the school, sucking in the fresh air delightedly. Fortunately, akumas didn't really have a time schedule, so he'd taken to storing extra fencing gear in lockers and spare spaces around the school, in case he had to make a quick change someday.

 _Well, today was that day,_ he thought to himself, as he cheerfully released his transformation and changed. He plopped the mask on his head and presented himself to Plagg, who looked considerably less-than-impressed.

"Oh, come on," Adrien said. "This'll work! I just have to be quiet and subtle."

"Yeah, because you're _so_ subtle…," Plagg drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Fine, just wait for me in the locker."

"I'll just be eating my cheese…, waiting for disaster…."

Adrien slammed the locker shut on his unhelpful kwami.

He strolled into the fencing lesson nonchalantly, whistling. _Whistling was the ultimate sign of innocence, right? Nobody would suspect him of anything if he was whistling innocently—_

"Hey, Adrien!" one of his teammates greeted him easily. "You missed class today. Isn't your nanny gonna go ballistic?"

"Wha—uh, I'm not Adrien!" he protested, coughing and trying to make his voice lower than it actually was. His teammate laughed.

"Yeah… Okay, man. Whatever you say."

Adrien gaped. _How had his brilliant plan failed already? He was wearing a mask!_

"Adrien!" a sharp voice off to the side made him jump and then cringe. He looked over to see Nathalie striding towards him, looking supremely unhappy.

 _Crap. The Gorilla wasn't with her. The Gorilla was always with her!_ He'd been Chat Noir long enough to recognize a pincer move. He quickly looked around. Probably the side door. He might be able to make it out of here if he ran for it… but the big guy could move pretty quickly when he wanted to.

Instead, Adrien raised his sabre in a salute and fell into a ready stance. Nathalie stopped short, blinking at him. Then she smirked.

"If I win, you return home with no fuss?" she offered.

"And if I win, you tell my father you couldn't find me," Adrien said.

She nodded in agreement and accepted a mask, sabre, and padding from Mr. D'Argencourt, who was always eager to see a duel of honor unfold. Now, the man was nearly bouncing. As she got ready, Adrien felt himself growing nervous at the easy way she handled herself. Nathalie knew how to fence?

"En garde," D'Argencourt called. "Prêts? Allez!"

 _Crap, Nathalie knew how to fence!_

Within moments, Adrien felt himself being pushed back by a flurry of attacks that had him scrambling to keep up. He barely dodged a particularly good thrust towards his ribs. He attempted a riposte, but was stunned to see her dance away from him, her movements fluid and effortless.

 _Damn_. Why had his father never let him practice with _her_?

 _He was gonna lose…_

She had him backing up again, nearly to the stairs to get away from her relentless attacks. Then— _THERE_!—he saw an opening and dove for it, hitting her neatly below the heart.

 _YES! He'd won! The fight was his!_ Mr. D'Argencourt and his teammates were cheering on the sidelines—

The Gorilla grabbed him from behind.

* * *

End Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4 - Dinner with the Parents

_(I forgot to warn you guys-spoilers for Season 2 - Part 1. You know, the stuff on Netflix if you live in the US. I dunno if they're even considered spoilers anymore, but here's your warning.)_

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Dinner with the Parents**

Even though he knew it was useless, Adrien struggled in his bodyguard's grip.

"You tricked me!" he cried. His glare was lost behind the fencing mask. Nathalie looked unfazed as she returned her equipment to M. D'Argencourt, who was yelling at her about honor. She ignored him as well.

"You're causing a scene, Adrien," she said, as emotionless as ever as she led the way towards the doors. Adrien couldn't stop his own howl of rage as he struggled even harder.

A howl that was lost in the sudden shrieking of the fire alarm.

Nathalie and the Gorilla paused for a moment in shock, but it was long enough for a small figure to run up behind them.

"FIRE!" she yelled. Then she promptly sprayed them both with a fire extinguisher.

Crying out, Nathalie and the Gorilla cringed away from the freezing spray, just long for Adrien to break free. He ran towards his savior as she made sure there was enough spray in the air to cover their retreat. Instinctively, his hand found hers and they ran for the exit together.

Fortunately, the bakery was right across the street. They ran inside, slamming the door shut behind them. Coughing a bit, Marinette gave her mother a little innocent giggle and wave as everyone else in the bakery stared at them in shock.

Sabine raised an eyebrow at Adrien, undoubtedly aware that he was the same boy that people had been looking for earlier. ( _This fencing mask was worthless as a disguise_ , he mused.)

"Do I want to know?" she asked, deadpan.

"You remember that discussion we had about doing the wrong things for the right reasons?" Marinette asked anxiously, wringing her hands. Her mother seemed to understand immediately.

"Go upstairs and keep quiet," she instructed. "I'll be up there to start supper in a few moments. I expect you both to be there, washed and ready to help me by the time I'm done here."

"Yes, maman," Marinette said meekly. Since she still held Adrien's hand, she easily pulled him through the bakery to the stairs up to their house. Adrien didn't let go until they were in the living room.

"Whew, thanks for the save, Marinette!" he said, taking off his useless mask.

"Adrien, what were you thinking?!" she exclaimed.

Adrien winced. "Sorry. I was… getting bored, all alone in your room."

"You—you should've said something," Marinette said, her tone much softer. "I could've told Alya something believable as an excuse."

"I didn't want to worry you," he muttered, looking away. "You've done so much for me already—And, wait, how did you know I needed you?"

"I forgot to put some cookies in my purse—in-in case I needed a snack while I was out!" she said, blushing for some reason. "When I came back, I saw that Nathalie and your bodyguard were heading into the school instead of being at the Kubdels' place like they said they would be. It was suspicious, so I followed them. And—"

"And you saw everything," Adrien finished, hanging his head.

"It was a really great duel, if it's any consolation," Marinette offered. Adrien gave her a weak smile.

"I can't believe you pulled the fire alarm for me."

"Yeah, I'm so grounded."

"Yes, you are," a new voice interjected. Marinette's father stepped into the room, staring them both down. Marinette winced. "But first," Tom added. "Your mother told you two to wash up to help her with supper. Get to it."

Marinette and Adrien did as they were told. Fortunately, her father didn't say anything more about it, and never once asked Adrien why he was in the house. Once Sabine came up, he went back down to look after the bakery. Sabine also said nothing, simply instructing the two teens on how to make a simple pasta dish.

Adrien, who had never cooked before (had never _had_ to cook before), paid close attention to all the instructions with a fervor that he usually reserved for physics homework. He felt himself forgetting all his impending problems as he focused on the simple tasks in front of him. As he relaxed, he and Marinette even started making little jokes about the ingredients they were working with.

"You haven't left _mush-room_ for the mushrooms," Marinette giggled.

"Come back and say that to my face, you limp noodle!" Adrien declared, mockingly threatening her with a spoon. "I won't _fork-give_ you!"

Marinette gasped dramatically, brandishing a pair of tongs. "You sure are _saucy_ to speak to _me_ like that!" she exclaimed. She clicked the tongs together threateningly.

"Careful you two don't spill that," Sabine scolded them. She gave them a sly smile. "It cost a pretty _penne_." The teens snorted in laughter. "Also, _lettuce_ toss the salad. We're almost ready."

"I forgot to warn you, my parents love puns," Marinette mock-whispered.

"My kind of people," Adrien said grinning.

"Don't forget to take the buns out of the oven," Sabine called. "Otherwise our dinner will be _toast_."

"Maman, that was baaad," Marinette groaned.

Once Tom finally joined them, it only got worse. Adrien's sides were starting to hurt with all the jokes and puns that got thrown about. Both he and Marinette had to stop themselves from choking on their food more than once when Tom decided to get creative with his punch lines. And once they transferred from bread jokes to cat puns, Marinette swore the blond's eyes _gleamed_.

She shook her head and stayed out of that one. She'd heard them all from Chat Noir already.

"…and then, the cat ate—" In the middle of his joke, Adrien suddenly froze and paled.

"Something wrong, son?" Tom asked kindly.

"I—I uh… I forgot something at the school," Adrien stammered, looking horrified.

"You mean besides your clothes?" Sabine giggled.

Adrien looked down at his fencing outfit. "Yeah, it was with my clothes… oh, he's gonna kill me…."

"Your father?" Marinette asked, looking worried. She glanced outside, where it wasn't quite dark yet. "They might not have locked up yet. Sometimes Mr. Damocles still stays late as the Owl."

Adrien bit his lip. "Well, I hate to eat and run…."

"Why don't you and Marinette go get your stuff from the school," Sabine said, standing up and taking some plates. "When you get back, Tom and I will have dessert ready."

Adrien agreed, and he and Marinette headed out. They made sure Nathalie and the Gorilla weren't hiding anywhere that they could see and quickly sprinted to the doors. Thankfully, the school was still open (it sounded like Mr. Damocles was practicing a new catch-phrase in his office, which had them both giggling). Then Marinette stood guard as Adrien went into the locker room to get his stuff.

Plagg was _not_ happy.

"You left me!" he shrieked, despite Adrien shushing him. "I bet you even went and had a nice dinner—" He sniffed Adrien's breath. "You did! I can't believe it… betrayed by own Cat… I thought we were friends!" He moaned and carried on, pretending to collapse in despair.

"I'll make it up to you," Adrien hissed, forcing the kwami into the folds of fabric he'd elected to carry instead of wear. He'd change at Marinette's place. He didn't want to be caught with his pants down by the principal. Especially when he was with Marinette. That would be _Awkward_.

Sure, he'd seen her in her pajamas before. And they'd both woken up in the same room this morning. But— _gah! Focus, Adrien!_

He shook his head to clear it and grabbed the rest of his stuff. Then he joined Marinette outside and they quickly slipped across the street and into the bakery.

"What am I gonna tell your parents when it's time for me to go home?" he whispered as they climbed the stairs.

"We'll think of something," she assured him, opening the door.

They both froze when they saw who was waiting for them.

"Adrien," Nathalie greeted, her face expressionless.

* * *

End Chapter 4.

 _A/N: Please, for the love of fluff, don't spray anyone with a fire extinguisher unless they're actually on fire! That stuff is not meant to be breathed, which is why I have Marinette coughing later. /PSA_


	5. Chapter 5 - Comfort

**Chapter 5 – Comfort**

To their credit, Marinette's parents looked a bit ashamed of themselves as they ushered the two teens insides.

"Mama…," Marinette whined, feeling betrayed.

"Don't get me wrong, Marinette," Sabine said. "I'm very proud of you for trying to help your friend. But running away from home is a serious matter. Did either of you think about Mr. Agreste's feelings?"

"I doubt he'd even notice until I missed my next photoshoot," Adrien spat, still glaring at Nathalie. She looked away uneasily. Sabine and Tom seemed to catch onto this.

"Is there something we should know?" Tom asked Natalie gently.

"It's none of your concern," she said crisply.

Ignoring her, Sabine turned to Adrien. "Do you want to talk about it?' she asked him kindly. He kept his focus on Nathalie.

"No," he said. " _My mother's portrait_ isn't something anyone outside our family would understand."

Nathalie's eyes widened in shock and comprehension. Adrien would've continued taunting her with his forbidden knowledge, but… her face immediately shifted back into the emotionless mask he was so familiar with.

It sent chills down his back.

 _To think—to_ _ **know**_ _—that she had stood there, with that emotionless mask, and watched as countless atrocities were committed before her very eyes… and she did nothing. Gave no indication. What would she do if his father turned on_ _ **him**_ _?_

 _Nothing_.

She would say _nothing_.

He would simply… _disappear_.

For the first time, he fully understood just how much danger he was in.

 _Oh God, oh God, please… somebody_ _ **save**_ _me…._

Marinette's hand on his shoulder jolted him out of his panic. "Maman," she said. "Can Adrien get dressed before he goes? He and I have something to discuss."

Nathalie took a step forward. "That won't be—"

"Of course, dear," Sabine interrupted, stepping in between them. "Just don't take too long now." She turned back to Nathalie before the assistant could protest again. "Can I get you two some tea while we wait?" she suggested, firmly positioning herself between the woman and the stairs to Marinette's room. Tom took her cue and stood beside his wife; a much more effective barrier. Marinette took the opening and led Adrien upstairs.

"Madam Cheng, I don't think you understand—"

"I understand that there's no other way down from that room," Sabine replied, pouring the tea. "Just give them a few minutes, or you'll have to fight him the whole way back."

Marinette closed the trap door and looked away from Adrien, in case he really did want to change.

"Did you want to climb down from the balcony?" she asked softly. "I can try to distract them long enough to give you a head start…."

"No, they'll just catch me again. And you've done enough for me already," Adrien said. His hands were shaking. To distract himself, he decided to get dressed. If his father did decide to do something, a bit of fencing padding certainly wasn't going to help against a magical butterfly.

 _Still_ ….

 _He couldn't go out like this! He had a job to do. A city to save! A lady to warn… and no way to reach her in time. Nathalie wasn't going to give him a chance to get away from her again. His father certainly wasn't going to hesitate long enough for Chat Noir to warn Ladybug. And if he transformed now, Marinette would know his secret identity! There was no way out of this!_

He felt Marinette's hand on his shoulder again.

"Adrien," she murmured. "You're hyperventilating. Stay with me."

 _I want to. I want to stay forever. Please. You're safe and warm and—_

"Breathe, Adrien."

He obeyed her automatically. That small breath of air got his brain working again enough to notice her scent. A whiff of floral, something sweet, and just a hint of mint….

— _you smell like home._

Adrien couldn't stop himself from winding his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. His head dropped onto her shoulder and he breathed in automatically, letting her scent wash over him. His body instantly relaxed.

"Adrien?" Marinette sounded slightly alarmed. He should comfort her. Apologize. Pull away and smile. Tell her he'd be all right and thank her for everything she'd done. Instead, his body started shaking as tears fell onto her shoulder.

"Adrien, please talk to me. Tell me what's wrong!" Marinette begged as she hugged him tighter. "I want to help! But I can't, if you don't tell me the problem!"

 _God, he felt so weak. So pathetic. He was a superhero, for crying out loud, and he'd just discovered his greatest enemy's hideout and identity! He should be jumping for joy! Springing into action! Not weeping helplessly on the shoulder of a school girl who barely knew him as a friend!_

 _But…_

"It's my father," Adrien sobbed, the words escaping before he could stop them.

"Your father? Did he hurt you?!" Marinette's voice had suddenly taken on a hard, determined tone.

"No, no… not yet anyway. Not me," Adrien said. "He's—he's—"

 _He couldn't say it. Saying it would make it real._

"Adrien?"

 _How did he put it into words?_

 _The horror._

 _The terror._

 _The knowledge that just down the hall lived a_ _ **madman**_ _. A madman who_ _ **hurt people**_ _on a regular basis._

 _The sinking, sick feeling he got whenever he thought of the family portrait hanging on the wall and realized that that same madman was all the family he had left in the world._

 _He was expected to fight him._

 _He was expected to put him in prison or… take him out._

 _He was expected to sacrifice_ _ **everything**_ _he'd ever known, trusting blindly that something better would_ _come out in the end._

 _Cold and aloof? Maybe. But Gabriel Agreste was still his father. A piece of him. A constant in his life. He'd already lost his mother. Now he had to lose everything else too?_

 _But if he did nothing… if Chat Noir abandoned Ladybug… things still wouldn't get any better. He'd lose the love of his life! And who knew what Paris would turn into afterwards._

 _No, no, no, no, no, NO! He had to warn her! If he couldn't fight as Chat; couldn't transform just yet, he still had to get word to her somehow!_

A hand reached up to stroke his hair, the other one rubbing comforting little circles into his back. Marinette was still pressed against him, murmuring assurances. Hope shimmered to life.

 _Could she…?_

Did he dare?

Did he have a choice?

"Marinette," he croaked, his voice breaking as he pulled away from her. "You know Ladybug, right? You've contacted her before? With Evillustrator?"

Marinette went still. "I wouldn't say I _know_ her," she said carefully. "And she's been the one to contact me in the past, but I think I can get a message to her if you need me to."

"Please," Adrien said desperately, taking a deep breath before he chickened out. "Please tell her… I think she was right. She and Chat Noir had a hunch a while back, on who Hawkmoth was." The name stuck in his throat and he had to swallow before continuing, so he didn't notice her sharp intake of breath. "They decided against it, but… she was right. Just tell her that. And, if I disappear—"

"No," Marinette said firmly. "You are _not_ going to disappear. You are going to text me as soon as you get home, and so help me, if I don't get a message by midnight, I'm calling the police, the fire department, the army, the works!"

Despite his hopeless situation, Adrien laughed at the conviction in her voice. _Oh, how he wished he could believe her!_

"Still…," he said.

"I'll tell her," Marinette said, nodding. "I'll get word to Ladybug somehow. You can trust me, Adrien."

"Thank you," he said, relief flooding him. It was a comfort to know that, even if Chat Noir mysteriously vanished into the night, at least Ladybug would have a heads up. He took another deep breath and glanced ruefully at the trap door.

"Guess I should get going, huh? I probably won't be able to come to school after this little stunt, but… I'll see you around?" He offered his hand.

"See you around," Marinette agreed. "You couldn't keep me away if you tried."

* * *

End Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 6 - Admiration

**Chapter 6 – Admiration**

Once Adrien had left in his car, Marinette pled exhaustion and escaped to her room. But she immediately went up to her balcony.

"What are you going to do?" Tikki asked, looking worried.

"My job," Marinette said firmly, clenching her fists.

"Poor Adrien," Tikki said mournfully. "And after he lost his mother recently too. But at least he'll have you! And all of his friends—!"

" _Tikki, spots on_!" Marinette called, unwilling to think about it anymore. She didn't want to think about how big this was. She didn't want to realize how Adrien might become an orphan tonight. And after everything he'd been through already?! _Was she prepared to take the rest away?_

Reluctantly, she squared her shoulders and called Chat Noir, hoping that he'd somehow been able to transform before their scheduled meeting tonight.

No such luck.

She couldn't wait for him.

It sounded like Hawkmoth knew that Adrien knew. If the blond got back home before she did something, who knew what would be waiting for him?

At best, Hawkmoth would akumatize him and turn him into a mindless puppet.

No, she couldn't let that happen. Her first priority had to be Adrien.

Forever and always.

 _God, he'd been so brave through all of this. That man was his only family, and Adrien had chosen to get away from him, just so he could tell a reclusive hero how to beat the bad guy. He was so amazing._

And now she had to protect him. No matter what the cost.

Tossing her yoyo, she leapt into the night.

It was easy to locate Adrien's towncar. Even easier to wrap her yoyo string around a tire and make it pop. Adrien's bodyguard skillfully got them to the side of the road without incident, but Ladybug didn't stick around to see him take care of the problem. She'd just bought herself some time. She had to use it well.

She flew off towards the Agreste manor. Once she got there, though, she didn't bother with the front door. Nope, she went straight to Gabriel Agreste's office. Adrien had mentioned his mother's portrait, and she easily remembered the gaudy thing.

Gabriel Agreste looked up as she slipped in the window.

"Ladybug?" he said, sounding surprised to see her. "I take it you heard that my son was missing. No need to worry, I just got word that he's on his way home."

"Adrien will be a little late, Hawkmoth," she said, her tone frosty. Mr. Agreste started a bit at the villain's name, but quickly recovered.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," he said smoothly. His eyes narrowed. "And if you've done something to my son because of some _delusion_ you have—"

"Of the two of us," Ladybug interrupted, looking angry. "I'll remind you that _you're_ the one attacking innocent civilians."

"I already told you, I don't—"

"Let's not play this game," Ladybug said, fingering her yoyo. "I know who you are. _You_ know who you are. So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your threat to Paris, right here, right now."

Gabriel studied her for a moment.

"Because you love my son," he said simply.

"I _admire_ him—oh, who am I kidding—yes, I love your son," Ladybug snapped. "And right now, I'll do anything I have to to protect him. He's terrified that you'll do something to him as soon as he comes home."

"He knows?" For the first time, Gabriel looked pale.

"He's the one who alerted me. Or did you think he was simply throwing a tantrum when he left?" Ladybug said. She shook her head at the thought. _That boy had more backbone than most people she knew. He was incredible. The things he'd had to go through…._ She glanced at the pictures on the wall of the boy in question. "You know, I used to admire you," she admitted. "You were my hero. The idol of the fashion world. The person I hoped to _be_ someday. Then I realized your son is ten times the person you are."

"You're into fashion then?" Gabriel asked slowly, latching onto this new information. Ladybug shot him a sly, sideways smile.

"Let's not do this. For Adrien's sake, just come quietly."

"For Adrien's sake, I can't."

"What do you mean?" Ladybug asked.

Gabriel glanced at the portrait behind him. "Has he ever spoken to you about his mother?" he asked quietly.

"Not much, other than the fact that she disappeared." She was running out of time. She needed to finish this quickly! But curiosity was eating her alive.

"She disappeared because she was sick," Gabriel said, swallowing. "She chose it, rather than waste away in front of us. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. They said she'd need a miracle."

He fixed his enemy with a hard stare.

"So I found her a _Miraculous_. Turns out, it was the wrong one. It didn't have the powers we needed, so I kept looking. And then I found Nooroo here, who informed me of the two Miraculouses that I _would_ need. One of which… happens to be in your possession, my dear."

"The Earrings and the Ring together can grant any one wish," Ladybug recited. "You want to make a wish to cure her, is that it?"

Gabriel nodded.

"That's not how it works," she said. "If you cure your wife, someone else will get sick in return. The universe must always be kept in balance."

"Who better to pay the price than a villain who has caused so much harm?" Gabriel asked softly.

Ladybug gaped at him. "You—your plan—you'd be willing to…."

"I can't say I like the thought," he admitted. "But if it's a choice between myself and her, well…."

"What about Adrien?" she exclaimed. "Have you given any thought to how this'll affect him?!"

"I am not a good parent, Ladybug," Gabriel said sharply. "I know this. I have never been good with people, and with my son, it's no exception. He will be far better off with his mother! Now, are you going to give me your Miraculous, or are you going to let him suffer?"

Ladybug smirked.

* * *

When Adrien finally got home that night, he was tired, and scared, and so, so sick of being tired and scared. _He didn't want to deal with this. He didn't want—_

 _Ladybug?_

He gaped at the figure in red coming towards him confidently from his father's study.

 _Holy crap, Marinette worked quick!_

He tensed when he saw his father behind her. The man wasn't in chains. _Should he transform to help her? Had she already won?_

"Don't worry, Adrien," Ladybug said, smiling as she laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Everything's okay now. Marinette told me everything. You're safe. Isn't he, Mr. Agreste?"

"I'm glad you're home, son," Gabriel said stiffly, barely glancing at Adrien as he passed by. "You should get some rest."

"Don't forget to text your friend later tonight," Ladybug added, winking. "If you don't keep in contact with her, I'm going to assume something happened. Wouldn't want that now, would we, Gabriel?" she called sweetly.

His father stopped, barely turned to look at the superheroine, and gave her a single nod. Then he continued to his room.

"Ladybug—" Adrien began.

"Hush now, don't worry," Ladybug said, turning back towards him with a happy smile. "You must trust me on this, okay?

He did. He'd loved and admired her since the moment he'd met her. He trusted her with his very soul. But… _Hawkmoth was right there, and she was letting him walk away?!_

"You've been so brave, Adrien," she said, gazing at him with admiration. Adrien blushed uncomfortably. _Why was she looking at him like that? And why—? She was acting strange…._

"Is anything wrong?" he asked nervously.

"Nope," she said cheerfully. "It'll all work out in the end. You'll see."

* * *

End Chapter 6.

 _A/N: *Opens arms wide* Let the hate flow, it's only gonna get worse from here!_


	7. Chapter 7 - Modeling

**Chapter 7 - Modeling**

"There, there, now turn your head towards me, like your mama is serving the spaghetti!"

Adrien took a deep breath and tried to look happy and eager, instead of sighing like he really wanted to. He knew Vincent meant well. The man was trying to conjure up happy memories, to help Adrien do his job as a model. The problem was…

His "mama" was missing. The very thought of her was a sharp blow to the gut, even now.

And he was a model. How many times had he been denied carbs, especially pasta, before a show?

 _Well, at least that's how it used to be,_ he reminded himself, chancing a glance at his new personal assistant.

Marinette smiled brightly back and, looking around to make sure no one saw, surreptitiously waved a croissant at him. Adrien couldn't help it. He laughed.

"There you go!" Vincent cheered in approval. "Once more for the camera!"

A few days ago, just after Adrien had come home, his father had hired Marinette to be Adrien's shadow during the day. He'd claimed it was so Nathalie could have more free time to help him run the company, but Adrien knew the truth. Ladybug had demanded that Adrien keep in touch with her somehow, and Marinette happened to be the only way they knew how to contact the superheroine reliably. Whatever had happened between his father and Ladybug, he was certainly trying to keep her happy right now.

And in the meantime, Adrien certainly wasn't going to complain about the change. Not only was Marinette as organized as Nathalie was (though he suspected she'd had some help. How else could she know his schedule so well?), but she made this fun! She never hesitated to sneak him snacks and water, and she kept making jokes and funny comments whenever she could.

He also couldn't deny it was a very nice feeling to have somebody cheering for him at all his fencing matches. Her "completely lost" looks during his Chinese lessons were hilarious (especially when his tutor had tried to engage her the first day, assuming she knew the language from her heritage) and he'd been able to wiggle out of piano lessons with her there. (Having someone to actually _play_ foosball with was awesome, and Marinette had a killer competitive streak.)

And her undeniable enthusiasm for fashion shone through every time they did something like this. She'd even cheerfully assured him that missing classes wasn't going to be a problem if she could put this on her resume as intern work.

Besides, Adrien didn't consider himself vain, but seeing Marinette blush at some of his poses made him want to preen and strut in front of her, just to see how red she could get.

Maybe it was his Chat Noir coming through? That part of him had definitely been repressed lately. Ever since he'd been caught and sent home, he'd been watched so carefully it was hard to feed Plagg, much less transform. Nathalie had ordered the Gorilla to stand watch inside his room for now, instead of just outside the door, and when he tried to open the bathroom window, the whole place went into lockdown mode.

Thus, he hadn't been able to make it to meet his lady at their appointed time, and the messages they'd left each other since then left a bad taste in his mouth.

Ladybug had never mentioned Hawkmoth, nor told him what they'd discussed; she'd simply insisted Chat needed to meet with her immediately. Wouldn't tell him why. It made him uneasy. What if his father had managed to akumatize her or something? She could attack Chat and take his ring!

So, for now, Chat Noir had been hiding from _everyone_ , praying everyday that an akuma wouldn't show up and prove him right.

He didn't know what he'd do if he had to fight Ladybug.

* * *

Marinette grinned from ear to ear as Vincent proudly showed her the previews of Adrien's photos, both of them cooing over each one. The model himself was taking a break, shaking his head at them amusedly as he sipped at the bottle of water she'd brought him. He always seemed surprised when she did little things like that. It made her wonder how he'd managed before she came along.

Did he just live without basic things like water and food until after the shoot? Part of her wanted to ask his bodyguard, but another part of her was afraid to. (Especially since she'd never actually caught the man's name, and now felt slightly awkward around him.) Besides, she couldn't really blame him if he forgot a couple things; he had enough trouble trying to keep Adrien's ardent fans at bay.

She looked up to see another cellphone take a picture before the Gorilla could chase them off. She and Vincent both sighed, and the photographer finally called an end to the shoot (though not before promising her copies of some of the poses with a knowing wink). Then she busied herself with gathering up some of the equipment.

Yes, she was supposed to stay close to Adrien, but Mr. Agreste had requested they keep the "viral couple" pictures to a minimum.

"Can't have everyone keep thinking I'm his girlfriend, right, Tikki?" she laughed. The kwami in her bag remained silent, even though no one could hear them. Marinette sighed.

"Are you still sulking?" she asked, opening the bag.

"I am _not_ sulking, I am _protesting_!" Tikki retorted, turning away from her holder with a sniff.

Marinette rolled her eyes. She'd heard all of this the first night; Tikki had read her the riot act.

"This is serious business, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed.

"And I am _taking_ it seriously," the girl replied. "The easiest way to defeat Hawkmoth is to give him what he wants. Nobody has to even get hurt if that cat would just get off his lazy bum and show up already!"

"You can't take Chat Noir's Miraculous for Hawkmoth, Marinette!" Tikki pleaded. "Just listen to how that sounds! He's tricked you! Do you really think he's going to keep his word in the end?"

"Of course not. But he's not the only one who can double-cross a person," Marinette said with a wink.

Tikki stared at her, aghast. "I can't believe you're even considering this, much less doing anything about it!"

"Well, believe it," Marinette said firmly. "I'm going to keep Paris safe _and_ give Adrien his family back, all in one!"

"I refuse to be a part of this!"

"Keep sulking, Tikki," Marinette snapped, closing the bag again. "You'll agree I was right in the end! Hey, Adrien!" she called, running to catch up with the boy, " _model_ behavior today!"

Adrien threw his head back and laughed. "And you said your mom's jokes were bad!"

* * *

End Chapter 7.


	8. Chapter 8 - Pool Party

**Chapter 8 - Pool Party**

Marinette could barely contain her squeal of joy as they got to Le Grande Paris Hotel. These past few days had been heaven – _Adrien-style_ heaven! Not only did she have a part-time job relating to fashion now, but that same job meant that she got to spend hours with Adrien! She was also days away from finally defeating Hawkmoth—but more importantly, helping Adrien!

Better yet, her stutter had almost completely dried up due to constant exposure! (Though it still reared its ugly head if he decided to do something flirty or cute. She was pretty sure it was going to make a comeback this afternoon.)

This afternoon, Chloe was hosting a pool party. Adrien had, of course, been invited, which meant Marinette got to go as well, since she was shadowing him for his father (a fact which had made Chloe see red when she'd heard about it). In fact, Marinette was pretty sure that Chloe had invited the rest of their class just so she could ignore Marinette.

No matter. Not even Chloe's bad attitude could dampen the fact that she got to see Adrien in his swimsuit today! (Not that he didn't look amazing in everything he wore!)

When they got to the roof, they discovered that they were among the last to arrive. Alya and Nino waved to them from where they'd claimed a table and some chairs. Marinette waved back.

"There you are, Adrikins!" Chloe gushed, pouncing on the poor boy from behind. She gave Marinette a disgusted once-over. "So sorry you had to bring your nanny… but anyway, look at my new bathing suit! Isn't it gorgeous?!" She got off Adrien's back to twirl for him.

"Yeah, very… eye-catching, Chloe," Adrien said awkwardly.

Marinette personally thought he was being generous, even with that. It was downright gaudy. The bright yellow color was bad enough, but some half-baked designer had sewn in sequins. Sequins! In a swimsuit!

"And try to be nice to Mari, won't you?" Adrien added. "She's doing an important job for my father." He continued on his way to their waiting friends with Marinette trailing behind, her face on fire.

It was too much to hope that their friends hadn't caught the exchange. So, when Nino and Adrien slipped out of their shirts and raced each other to the pool, Alya turned to Marinette with a sly smile.

"Soooo, it's _Mari_ now, is it?"

Marinette squeaked, hiding her face.

"When did _this_ happen?" Alya pressed, chuckling. "You've never let _me_ call you Mari before. You said you hated it."

"I-It's different with Adrien!" Marinette protested. "He claimed he'd never given a friend a nickname before… and he seemed so proud of himself…."

"And you'd let him call you any pet name he wanted, right?"

Marinette flushed deeper.

"Did _you_ give _him_ a nickname?" Alya asked, arching an eyebrow. "Tell me it was better than 'hot stuff.'"

"I like his name!" Marinette huffed. Her indignation wilted in the face of her bestie's continued stare. "And, no, I haven't been able to think of anything. I was hoping you could help me?" she asked, biting her lip.

"We'll think of something good for lover boy," Alya promised. "For now, let's join them in the pool! I know you're looking at Sunshine's abs—I mean swimsuit!"

Marinette giggled nervously as she tore her eyes away from the beautiful sight in front of her. Adrien, laughing and playing with Nino, looking carefree and happy, and yes, absolutely gorgeous!

"Sunshine," she murmured to herself, trying the name out as she finished getting ready for the pool. It certainly suited him. But… no, she was still too embarrassed to try to give him his own nickname just yet. She'd think of one eventually.

"Nice swimsuit, Mari," Adrien called, looking up at her from the pool. "Did you make it yourself?"

She beamed at him. "Yep!" She allowed herself a twirl before glancing down at it herself. Light pink with white spots. Let Ladybug have her bold colors and defining black spots; Marinette preferred a softer, more girly look.

"Ugh, you look like cotton candy," Chloe remarked as she passed by to flop in a lounging chair. Marinette stuck her tongue out at the girl.

"Aww, I love cotton candy," Adrien said, grinning up at her. Marinette turned beet red. _How did she even respond to something like that?_ He frowned at her curiously. "But you know, you've got something… right…." He waved her closer.

Thinking she had a loose thread somewhere, Marinette quickly looked herself over again. Finding nothing, she crouched down by Adrien to let him take it off.

She saw his mischievous smirk too late.

Adrien grabbed her arm and pulled her into the pool. Marinette went under, gasping as soon as she broke back through the surface.

"WHY, YOU!" she cried indignantly, splashing the laughing boy. He retaliated in kind, until they had a full-on war going between them. Their classmates, of course, were quick to join in.

"Water fight!" Nino yelled, splashing Alya.

"Bring it on!"

"BANZAI!" Kim yelled, cannonballing into the pool.

Marinette ignored them all as she focused on dunking Adrien, who kept slipping out of her reach, quick as a cat.

"Can't catch me!" he taunted, dancing away again. She gave a growl of frustration and pounced on him, her competitive streak overcoming her shyness. They both went under just in time to miss Chloe's indignant shriek.

"How dare you! _How dare you!_ " she screamed, pointing her finger at a girl who had dared to come to _her_ pool party… and happened to be wearing the same swimsuit. "You don't deserve to wear a masterpiece like this, Gabriel said he made it just for me!"

Adrien and Marinette turned at his father's name just in time to see Chloe stomp up to the poor girl, who already looked embarrassed.

"It's totally not your color anyway!" she raged. "You look like a limp piece of bread! All the fashion in the world couldn't make _you_ pretty!"

"CHLOE!" they both exclaimed, as the girl ran sobbing to the elevator.

"What? It's true!" Chloe exclaimed, storming back over to her chair.

"I'm going to go see if that poor girl's okay," Marinette said, giving him an apologetic look.

"And I'll talk to Chloe," Adrien nodded. He had an uneasy feeling, though… God, he hoped. He _hoped_ ….

Marinette, meanwhile, hid a smile, grabbed her bag, and picked up her pace as she saw a tiny, black butterfly heading downstairs.

* * *

End Chapter 8.


	9. Chapter 9 - Jealous

**Chapter 9 - Jealous**

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…," Ladybug murmured as she studied the scene below her. A quick glance at her compact confirmed it; Chat Noir still hadn't transformed or bothered to answer her last three messages. He had to have seen the news about the akuma by now!

"C'mon, kitty, where are you?" she muttered, scanning the rooftops.

Below her, Kim screamed at a much higher note than she'd have thought possible when his manly swim-trunks were replaced with a striped bikini. Ladybug covered her mouth to stop her laughter. She'd have to give Hawkmoth props for this akuma; no actual harm to civilians (as per her condition of helping him with his end goal) and its effects were freakin' hilarious.

After all, all Beach Body could do was put people in ridiculous swimsuits. (Chloe in particular was having a bad time of it, and had run screaming to her room after the akuma changed her swimsuit to a neon pink and orange plaid monstrosity with ruffles in all the wrong places.)

If Chat were here, he'd be laughing himself silly.

Just thinking about him again had Ladybug frowning. _Why wasn't he here yet? Why was he never responding to her calls or meeting with her like he usually did? He couldn't know that she'd teamed up with Hawkmoth. Unless…. Had she done something wrong? Had Tikki managed to somehow warn his kwami?_

She choked a bit as Nino's outfit suddenly became a itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini. _Okay, she should probably do something about this before the akuma targeted…._

Ladybug quickly jumped in between Beach Body and Adrien, twirling her yoyo to deflect the attack.

"Not this one, you don't!" she snarled. A purple mask appeared on the akuma's face.

"Ladybug—" Adrien began, stepping towards her.

"I DON'T CARE, HAWKMOTH!" Beach Body screamed, aiming at Adrien again. "HE WAS THERE! HE WAS LAUGHING AT ME TOO! AND NOW I SHALL EXACT MY REVENGE!"

"Go hide!" Ladybug ordered the boy, flinging her yoyo at the akuma. _Dammit, Chat,_ she thought to herself as she fought the thing. If only he'd show up! Then they could end this charade! End everything!

The akuma's next shot came a little too close for comfort.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called. She got a red and black-spotted bottle of spray-on suntan lotion. "Seriously?" she grumbled, blocking another shot.

With an aggravated sigh, she charged Beach Body, silently offering an apology before spraying her in the eyes with the lotion. The akuma went down with a cry, and Ladybug snatched the sunglasses off the top of her head, smashing them into the ground. The little butterfly fluttered out and she caught it easily.

"Well, that was a waste," she said wryly as she released the now-pure butterfly and threw her Charm into the air, calling for the Cure. She and Hawkmoth were going to have to have a chat about him not being able to keep control of his akumas. _They couldn't be allowed to attack Adrien like that! Seriously, did the man not care about his son?_

"Ladybug!" she heard Adrien cry behind her. She turned to see him coming towards her with relief in his eyes. "I knew you weren't working with Hawkmoth! I just knew it!"

Her stomach gave an unpleasant lurch.

"R-right," she stammered. "Wh-why would I ever do that?" She gave a nervous laugh.

Adrien gave her a curious look and then lowered his voice, "So, my father…."

"You don't need to worry about it," Ladybug assured him. Then she got a sneaky idea. "How's Marinette?" she asked slyly. "Is she helping you as much as you need?"

 _Oh, she hoped the answer was yes! She could really use some confidence-building words right now—_

"Marinette's fine," Adrien said, frowning. Ladybug felt like pouting. _That didn't sound as good as she wanted._ "She's a great friend, and I appreciate her doing this for me, but don't you think it's too much?"

 _What? He didn't want to spend time with her? She thought they'd been having fun!_

"I owe her so much already, and she's just a civilian—"

 _ **Just**_ _a civilian?_

 _And what's this crap about owing her? Friends helped friends all the time without expecting anything from it!_

"—I don't wanna put her in any danger because of me. Wouldn't it be better if _you_ were the one guarding me?" Adrien suggested hopefully, blushing a bit. Ladybug blinked. She knew that blush! Heck, she had that blush every time she thought about Adrien!

 _Oh._

 _OH!_

 _Adrien had a crush on Ladybug? Adrien had a crush on Ladybug!_

 _So… why wasn't she happier about it?_

"Sorry, I can't," she said, clenching her fist at her side. "I've got more important things to do." She swung away before either of them could speak again. Inside, though, she was screaming.

 _What did I just say? Why did I just say that? What a jerk thing to say!_

 _Poor Adrien, he probably feels awful now! I should go back and apologize—_ her earring beeped _—crap, I can't go back! Besides, what would I even say? 'Sorry, Adrien, I didn't mean it. You're the most important thing in my life! I just got a little jealous—'_

She stopped and stared at her reflection in an empty window nearby, just as her transformation took her.

 _Marinette Dupain-Cheng,_ she scolded herself. _You are jealous of your own alter-ego! You need serious mental help!_

She groaned and facepalmed. "Tikki…."

"I'm still not talking to you," Tikki's muffled voice came from her bag.

Marinette groaned again.

* * *

End Chapter 9.


	10. Chapter 10 - Holding Hands

**Chapter 10 – Holding Hands**

Adrien was _not_ sulking. He was _not_ pouting, thank you very much. _And no, Plagg, he did not need to stuff himself with cheese until he felt better._

He was just… thinking. Yeah. Thinking about what Ladybug had said, and feeling a bit sad. Just a bit, though! Nothing to pout over!

"That is the third time you've sighed in the past minute," Plagg informed him solemnly.

"She thinks I'm not important, Plagg," Adrien tried not to whine.

"And again, that's not what she said," Plagg said, rolling his eyes.

"It's what she meant…," Adrien muttered.

"Maybe she just meant that _she_ has to chase akumas all day instead of following you to photoshoots," Plagg suggested. "You know, especially since _Chat Noir_ won't transform to help her…."

"I still think Hawkmoth akumatized her or something!" Adrien insisted. "I just need to figure out what the item is!"

"I hope you're right," Plagg muttered. "Otherwise you're gonna find out how _un-fun_ the receiving end of that yoyo is."

"Ladybug is still my partner," Adrien said. "I trust her. She'd never willingly attack Chat Noir."

"You said it, not me, kid."

Adrien was saved from having to reply as they pulled up to the school. He was still not used to seeing Marinette there to greet him with a big smile on her face. Not that he didn't appreciate it, of course! Or the little box of croissants she had with her!

"You-you've only got one photoshoot today, Adrien!" she informed him cheerfully. "It's during lunch, so we'll have to grab something quick to go, but we should be back before physics this afternoon!"

"Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said, genuinely cheered up by her enthusiasm.

"But since we have to get a light lunch, it's more important that you get a good breakfast!" she insisted, handing him a croissant.

 _Who was he to argue with delicious food?_

"Adrikins!" Chloe sang, no doubt moments away from jumping on him. Adrien panicked. _Where could he put his croissant so it wouldn't be squished—?!_

Marinette suddenly grabbed his free hand and pulled him out of the way of Chloe's pounce at the very last moment.

"C'mon, Adrien," she said, ignoring Chloe's indignant cries from the ground and tugging Adrien towards the school. "Some people just can't take a hint."

Adrien looked back at Chloe, feeling a bit guilty, but he _had_ asked her not to glomp him at school anymore….

"Thanks again, Marinette," he said quietly.

"If someone's making you feel uncomfortable, you should say something, Adrien," Marinette said.

Adrien glanced down. She didn't seem to realize they were still holding hands, even if she'd slowed her pace a bit. The funny thing was, it didn't make him feel uncomfortable. He was so unused to physical contact that he was hypersensitive to any and all touches, but the last time he'd simply held hands and walked along like this… he'd been with his mother.

He smiled at the comparison. Marinette was wonderful and sweet. Her hand was warm. Her touch firm, but not constricting. And he knew that she'd let go the moment he asked.

It was that knowledge that made him relax and actually enjoy the experience. She'd never try to force him to do something he didn't want to. His comfort and well-being came first for her.

Heck, she'd let him stay at her house, in her room! She'd fought off Nathalie and the Gorilla for him! And now, she was keeping an eye on him, keeping him safe for Ladybug. _No, his Lady was busy, but she still cared. And Marinette cared for him too, being the sweetest, best friend he'd ever had._

He squeezed her hand back, grateful to her beyond words. Only then did she seem to realize they were still holding hands, and he watched with amusement as her whole face flushed.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" she stammered.

He squeezed her hand tighter before she could pull away. "It's okay. It's nice to know I have someone I can always count on to have my back," he said.

Her smile became so wide it was blinding. Adrien felt his heart skip a beat, and quickly looked away. _Okay, this sudden breathlessness was not part of the plan to compliment her…_ He quickly stuffed his mouth full of croissant.

 _Nope. No._

 _I love Ladybug._

 _I cannot,_ _ **will not**_ _fall for Marinette!_

 _Especially not if Ladybug still needs me to figure out how she was akumatized!_

He kept that mantra in mind as they made their way to class, not realizing he had yet to let go of her hand.

* * *

Marinette was on Cloud Nine. _Adrien was holding her hand._ _ **Adrien was holding her hand!**_ _He said he counted on her! He trusted her! And trust was very important in a relationship!_

If she were alone, there would be high-pitched screaming involved right now!

After yesterday's fiasco at the pool, she was determined to show Adrien just how much he meant to her. It didn't matter if he didn't know she was Ladybug, _she_ knew what she'd said to him. And she'd never regretted anything more. So now, everything was for him!

Breakfast and snacks! Having his schedule even more memorized than she already did (she'd checked it over with Nathalie three times this morning, so she knew it was accurate)!

Pulling him out of Chloe's unwanted grip was just an added bonus. (Though it was a very welcome one.)

Alya spied their joined hands as soon as they stepped in the classroom and gave Marinette a delighted grin. Marinette winked back and gave Adrien's hand one more parting squeeze before she headed up to her seat.

"See you at lunch?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," Adrien said. He was blushing for some reason.

 _Oh my God. He was so cute when he blushed! It should be illegal to be that cute!_

"Girl!" Alya whispered excitedly as soon as Marinette sat down. "Holding hands?! You gotta give me all the deets!"

"Oh, don't worry, Alya," Marinette reassured her friend. "I'm just getting started!"

* * *

End Chapter 10.


	11. Chapter 11 - Slow Dance

**Chapter 11 - Slow Dance**

As any teenage girl will tell you, asking the boy of your dreams out on a date is a Herculean task. Marinette can tell you, it doesn't make it any easier if they're a literal supermodel. Plus, she's not quite sure if he's actually oblivious or just being intentionally dense.

 _I mean, sure, she's never flirted before, but COME ON. How hard can it be?_

"Hey, hot st—er—hot…hot-hot-hot—hot forehead! Is your forehead hot, Adrien? There's a cold going around, hehe!"

"Uh, no, I'm fine, Marinette. How about you? Are you okay? You look red."

* * *

"Adrien, we should ha-ang—hang-hang… hang a picture! Yeah, on the wall!"

"Great idea, Marinette! Hey, Nino! Let's take a picture for my wall! It needs some decoration!"

* * *

"Hey, look! It's Andre! Do you want to get some ice cream, Adrien?" _(YES! Score one for a full sentence!)_

"Sure, I gu—"

"OMG, IT'S ADRIEN!"

"ADRIEN'S GETTING ICE CREAM WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

"NO, ADRIEN! GET ICE CREAM WITH ME INSTEAD!"

"NO, ME!"

"NOO, ME!"

"I'LL BUY YOU ICE CREAM, ADRIEN!"

"REMEMBER ME, ADRIEN? YOU BUMPED INTO ME THAT ONE TIME—!"

Andre gave them a single look that said "RUN" and pointed in the opposite direction with his scoop.

"Look at that dead bird fly!" he cried.

Everybody looked.

Adrien and Marinette escaped. Barely.

* * *

"I thought you had a game plan, girl," Alya teased the next day as Marinette trudged to her seat.

"The game was called when the fans stormed the field," Marinette grumbled, plopping her head on her desk. Alya patted her on the back, chuckling. Marinette gave her a despairing look. "Even worse, Mr. Agreste called me in to make sure I wasn't 'taking advantage of his son or his generosity in giving me this esteemed position,'" she said, doing air quotes.

Alya laughed. "Esteemed position? You're literally a nanny and a gopher, all in one."

"And even if I'm with him all the time, it doesn't seem like I've gotten any _closer_ to Adrien!" Marinette groaned.

"Maybe you need some time away from him," Alya suggested. "Take it slow for awhile."

"Alya, if we were going any slower, we'd be going backwards."

* * *

Adrien wasn't quite sure what to do anymore. Yes, he liked Marinette, but just as a friend, right? Friends could do stuff together! Friends could hang out, and take pictures, and get food and ice cream together without it being weird, right?

 _Except, he was pretty sure friends shouldn't make his heart race like this._

 _ **Nooooo**_ _!_

 _He liked Marinette! He wanted to spend time with her, and tease and joke with her, and get food and treats, but he absolutely couldn't feel this way!_

 _He_ _ **loved**_ _Ladybug!_

 _He would not—would_ _ **never**_ _betray his feelings for her! He was NOT going to be THAT guy. His Lady loved him too (maybe not in the same way he wanted her to, but they had plenty of time for that later) and right now she needed him to save her!_

 _Was it just because he hadn't seen Ladybug in awhile (since Chat Noir was still hiding from her until he could find her akumatized item)? Was a few days all it took for his heart to become fickle?_

He'd bang his head against the wall in frustration, but Plagg had promised to record it if he did.

He stared at the window, wondering if it was worth the risk. He really needed to be someone other than Adrien right now. Marinette had gone home for the night, and doubtless his father and Nathalie thought he was sleeping. _It should be safe, right? Just a quick run to clear his thoughts._

"Plagg?" he called.

"Just don't use the bathroom window," his kwami warned. "They've got that one rigged to activate the security system if you open it at night."

"Thanks, Plagg. I owe you a double serving of camembert when we get back. _Claws out!"_

For once, the kwami looked eager to get into the ring. Adrien wondered if he'd been feeling restless too.

No matter, within moments Chat Noir was back out in the fresh air, racing along the rooftops. _God, he'd missed this!_ He threw himself into his leaps and twists, dancing with an invisible partner as he tried to purge these unwanted feelings from his system.

 _Ladybug._

 _Marinette._

 _No, no, kitty,_ he reminded himself. _A tango is meant for two. You have to choose._

 _Ladybug._

 _Marinette._

 _Marinette or Ladybug._

 _Marinette—_ _ **Marinette**_ _!_ he stopped short. _Marinette knew Ladybug! She could contact her easily!_ Scarcely able to breathe through this new hope, he headed for Marinette's house.

 _Maybe she'd know what the akumatized item was! Or she could at least give him some ideas!_ (So far, all he could think of was her yoyo or her hair ribbons. Plagg had said Ladybug's kwami would never allow a stupid butterfly to take over her earrings.) But he didn't want to face his lady until he was sure. She was a good enough fighter that if he didn't take her out on the first hit, it probably wasn't going to go well for him.

He stopped just before he got to Marinette's balcony, surprised to see her outside. She looked even more depressed than the last time he'd seen her like this. _Yikes_. _He hoped she wasn't crying. He had no idea how to talk to a crying girl!_

Then again, he had managed to cheer her up during the Glaciator incident, so maybe this would be okay!

"Hey, princess," he called softly, landing on her roof.

She whirled around to meet him, her eyes wide (and yes, teary. _Crapcrapcrap…_.)

"Chat Noir!" she exclaimed, quickly brushing her tears away. "Wh-what are you doing—WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" she suddenly yelled. "Ladybug's been looking everywhere for you! You haven't come to help—"

"I think Ladybug's been akumatized," he said quickly. Marinette froze, gaping at him and he looked away, feeling awkward. He'd have to be careful on how he worded this.

"I… have a friend," he said slowly, "who told me… she met with Hawkmoth. And the next time we talked, she seemed—"

"Who is this friend?" Marinette asked suddenly, looking suspicious.

"I—I can't tell you," Chat gulped. "Secret identities and all that. You know." He shrugged helplessly.

"Right," she said. But she was still frowning and looking like she was thinking hard about who could possibly know all that. He winced. Marinette was clever. This was going to get awkward for Adrien.

"But the important thing is, she didn't tell me she met with Hawkmoth!" he exclaimed, getting back on track. "She didn't say anything about it! She's just been insisting we meet! And I—I think she's going to try to take my Miraculous for him," he admitted, gulping.

 _God, even saying the words..._

"Maybe you should hear her out," Marinette said slowly. "Maybe she has a good reason…."

"Then why can't she talk to me?" he exclaimed, jumping down to her balcony and pacing. "Why didn't she tell me everything from the start? We're partners! We need to trust each other! And I—" He stopped when he saw her wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, deflating a bit. "I shouldn't be involving you in all this. But I just thought—you know Ladybug, right?"

"I'm not sure how I feel about being 'the girl who knows Ladybug,'" Marinette said ruefully. Chat laughed.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised. She gave him a small smile and then closed her eyes, looking sad again.

"Bad night?" he asked softly. He couldn't just ignore her problems because he had his own, after all.

"It's just—remember that boy I like?" she asked. He nodded. "Nothing I do seems to make any difference. And now, one of my best friends won't even talk to me, and I've gotten so used to talking to her about everything!"

Chat Noir blinked. _He didn't know she and Alya were fighting! Geez, no wonder why she was crying! Some friend he was!_

"Don't worry," he said. "You're a good person. I'm sure it'll turn out all right in the end."

"That's what I keep telling myself," Marinette muttered.

"Maybe try apologizing?" he suggested. "I don't know what happened between you two, but it's always better to keep things simple, right?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah. You're right."

He opened his mouth to ask her where she thought the akumatized item might be, but stopped himself. She was just a civilian. Defeating akumas was _his_ job. She shouldn't have to be involved at all. She was already in a dangerous position as it was.

"Well, I'm gonna get going," he said instead. "Good luck with your friend."

"You too," Marinette said without thinking.

Chat smiled and took off, unwilling to risk her anymore than he already was.

She was just a girl, warm and caring. His mind trailed back to the slow dance they'd shared at Chloe's party. The hug she'd given him when trying to comfort him about his father. How tiny she felt in his arms. Her soft, sweet scent. _Whoever this boy was, he needed to wake up,_ Chat thought. _He was luckier than any other man on the planet._

He headed for the Eiffel Tower, his sense of trepidation increasing by the moment.

 _You know that feeling when you're being watched?_

 _When you feel like there should be boss music playing in the background?_

 _Yup. Enter the cat._

"Long time, no see, kitty," a familiar voice called behind him.

Chat Noir turned around.

 _Let the dance begin._

* * *

End Chapter 11.

 _A/N: How'd this Marichat get in my Adrinette? Or the Ladrien earlier? Well, in my defense, they are all the same people. And Adrinette are the only ones even considering a relationship right now._


	12. Chapter 12 - Lucky Charm

**Chapter 12 - Lucky Charm**

Chat Noir felt a wave of annoyance at Marinette, even before he turned around. It had to be her fault, after all. Ladybug had found him too quickly. Marinette must've alerted her to the fact that he was out tonight.

 _And after I listened to her and told her how much I suspected Ladybug,_ he thought, seething, as the superheroine strode closer _. She sold me out! I thought we were friends!_

"You never called me back," Ladybug said, stopping a short distance away. Her eyes narrowed. "I told you I wanted to meet."

"You've been holding out on me too," Chat spat, looking her over. _Nothing new on her. He didn't think she had pockets in that skin-tight suit…._

 _Yoyo or hair ribbons?_

 _Yoyo or hair ribbons?_

 _But… if he took out the yoyo with his Cataclysm, they'd still be screwed unless she called for a Lucky Charm first, to put everything back afterwards._

He gulped at the thought. _A Lucky Charm designed to take him down?_ That was not a pleasant thought.

"I'm not akumatized, Chat Noir." Ladybug's voice broke through his thoughts.

"So you say," he said. A chill went through him as he processed that idea. "In fact, I think that might be worse: you working for him of your own free will."

"I still want to take Hawkmoth out," she said, sounding like she was explaining things to a child. "But it'll be quicker and easier this way."

He snorted. "Since when have you favored the easy plan?"

She glared at him. "All Hawkmoth wants to do is make a wish."

"A what?"

"He told me what he wants, and what he's willing to give up for it, and it makes sense, Chat—"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF?" Chat finally screamed at her. "THAT MAN IS _NOT_ STABLE, _NOT_ SENSIBLE, AND YOU'RE _LISTENING_ TO HIM?! HE ATTACKS PARIS EVERY OTHER DAY! HE TURNS PEOPLE INTO MONSTERS 'CAUSE HE CAN'T HAVE HIS OWN WAY! AND YOU WANT TO JUST _GIVE_ HIM WHAT HE WANTS?!"

Ladybug took a deep breath. "It's a lot easier to simply make the monsters disappear for good if we're willing to sit down and talk like adults—CHAT!"

Chat Noir was already walking away from her. "Nope. No. You're crazy," he snarled. "You'd rather rendezvous with the evil villain than actually talk things out with me, _your partner_!"

"I'm _trying_ to talk to you!" Ladybug yelled. "You're the one who's running away!"

"Because I don't want to fight you! Or did you think I wouldn't notice your akumatized friend sneaking up on me?" he asked, glancing to the side where a pair of glowing eyes were watching them. The villain raised his head, showing he had a pair of oversized puppy-ears on his head, and a big, brown nose. Chat curled his lip. "You smell like dog."

"I've got this, Hawkmoth," Ladybug growled. "Tell your pet to go home."

A glowing butterfly mask appeared on the villain. He grinned.

"Ohhh nooo, Ladybug," he cooed. "Pound Puppy will only get what he wants once Hawkmoth has his naughty kitty. Pound Puppy must help Hawkmoth. Ohhh yeeesssss."

 _Ok. This dude was_ _ **creepy**_ _._

"Congrats on your new partner, LB," Chat said sarcastically. "Seems like a real winner."

But he'd taken his eyes off her for too long.

" _Lucky Charm!_ " she shouted. A leash dropped into her hand. "Dammit, Tikki. Really?"

Chat Noir couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Aww, does your kwami agree with me, Bugaboo?"

"I can still take a cat for a walk," Ladybug said, glaring at him. "Pound Puppy, sic him!"

With a happy yelp (that sounded far too realistic to be comfortable), the akuma sprang at Chat, even as Ladybug's yoyo shot out to wrap itself around his baton. Chat spun in a circle to throw them both off, and then lunged at Ladybug. She had the advantage in a ranged battle, but close-quarters were _his_ specialty. She knew it too. She danced away.

Desperate, he followed her, even as he kept an eye on the stupid puppy akuma trailing him and trying to pounce.

Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that he was usually the one to get hit by an akuma's power and put under mind-control. Now it meant that Ladybug was used to fighting him, and she lashed out with her yoyo ruthlessly.

Snarling, he threw his baton at her head, and she stopped for a moment in shock. Deep down, they both knew he didn't want to hurt her, not ever. But he didn't have time for regret as he was grabbed from behind by Pound Puppy.

 _Oh, HELL NO. I am_ _ **not**_ _gonna be taken out by a_ _ **dog**_ _!_ Chat was unsurprised to hear his inner voice sounded a lot like Plagg right now.

He threw his head back into the akuma's nose, hearing a very-satisfying yelp when it connected. Then, he burst free into a crouch.

"Bad puppy. SIT!" he yelled, sweeping the monster's feet out from underneath him. Pound Puppy fell onto his butt with another cry.

But then Ladybug pounced onto Chat's back, wrapping her leash around his middle to keep him still, and already reaching for his hand. He hissed and rolled with her, beginning a wrestling match. Being slightly taller and heavier gave him an advantage, and soon he had her pinned beneath him, the leash securely in his own hand.

However, he only had one hand free, she was squirming desperately. She cried out and redoubled her efforts to break free as he swiped at her head, no doubt thinking he was going to go for her earrings.

Instead, her hair fell free as her ribbons were shredded from his claws.

They sprang apart, and Chat Noir felt his heart break.

 _No akuma._

 _No akuma._

 _She really was doing this of her own free will._

Deep down, something inside him had _hoped_ ….

 _Unless…_ he glanced at her yoyo. _That was his only hope…_

And it came whirling towards him as Ladybug attempted to attack him again. Something inside Chat snapped.

" _Cataclysm_!" he yelled, grabbing the yoyo instead of dodging away from it. Ladybug shrieked as it disintegrated. Chat Noir ignored her and backflipped back to Pound Puppy, who was still dazed. Using Ladybug's Lucky-Charm-leash, he bound the villain's arms to his sides and pulled him to his knees from behind.

" _Stay_ ," he commanded the dog-like akuma, and Pound Puppy obediently froze. Chat met Ladybug's eyes. "Where's the akuma?" he snarled at her.

She ground her teeth and balled her fists, refusing to answer.

Then her earrings beeped.

"You're running out of time, Bug," Chat warned. "It's gonna be me or the dog. And I'm not going down that easily."

Ladybug's expression crumpled. "Chat—"

"Choose, Ladybug."

"The akuma's in his belt buckle," she said softly. Pound Puppy whined.

Chat apologized to the big guy and gave the buckle a good scratch with his claws. As soon as the butterfly flitted out, he threw the Lucky Charm at Ladybug and ran for it before she had a chance to call for the Cure.

* * *

Adrien collapsed onto his bed as soon as he was home. Plagg was thankfully busy stuffing himself with cheese; neither of them wanted to talk about what had just happened. His eyes burned as tears fell onto his pillow.

 _God, he needed a hug right now._

He thought about calling Marinette, remembering her warmth and comforting words, but then… she was the one who'd betrayed Chat Noir and called Ladybug.

He put his phone down and reached into his pocket, pulling out the lucky charm she'd given him so long ago. He stared at it for a moment before throwing it to the ground and clutching his pillow instead.

 _Alone._

 _He had never felt so alone._

* * *

End Chapter 12 _._


	13. Chapter 13 - Group Project

**Chapter 13 - Group Project**

Adrien didn't want to go to school. He briefly thought about calling in sick, but no doubt Marinette would become suspicious.

 _No, no, he had to play this cool. He had to be calm and collected._

He froze as soon as he saw her waiting for him as soon as he got out of his car.

She knew, judging from the look on her face as she studied him. Or at least, she thought she knew what he'd done. How much she actually knew? That was still up in the air. Adrien looked away.

"So it _was_ you," she said softly, so only he could hear it. "You're the one who told Chat Noir about Ladybug and Hawkmoth."

"And you're the one who told Ladybug that Chat Noir was out last night," he retorted, unable to keep his anger inside. Marinette looked down, closing her eyes. "Do you know what happened?!"

"I didn't mean for it to—I didn't think—I didn't think it would come to that!" she cried, tears in her eyes. "Please, Adrien! You can't think I wanted them to fight?!"

"I don't know what to think anymore," Adrien said darkly. "I tried to warn Paris's superheroes about their greatest enemy, and one of them ends up working for him!"

"It's not like that!" she insisted. "Ladybug just wants the akumas to stop!"

"By letting the bad guy win? Are you serious, Marinette?"

His friend took a deep breath. "And if they take out Hawkmoth," she gulped, lowering her voice again. "What happens to you, Adrien?"

Adrien's breath caught. That was the question he'd been avoiding ever since the beginning of this debacle. Even now, he wasn't sure he wanted to face it. Especially since he didn't know who he could trust anymore.

"I don't know," he finally said. "Just leave me alone."

"Wait, Adrien!" Marinette's hand shot out to catch his arm before he could escape. She looked at him pleadingly. "Do you know who he is? Can you get a—"

"I really don't." He shrugged out of her grip and walked away.

* * *

"Alya," Marinette said quietly as they sat at their desk, waiting for class to start. "I need your help."

"Of course, girl," Alya said immediately. She smiled at her friend, hoping to cheer her up. "What's it gonna be? Do you want me to arrange another romantic date with Ad—"

"No!" Marinette said quickly. She lowered her voice. "No, nothing like that this time. In fact, I don't even want you to tell Adrien what we're doing. He might get mad."

"Ooo, a secret gift, then?!—Wait, mad?" Alya stared at her friend in surprise. "Why would Adrien get mad at you?"

"I… I did something—I made a mistake last night," Marinette said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But I want to try to make it right."

"Hey, whatever it is, you know I'm here for you, right?" Alya said gently. Marinette smiled at her gratefully. "So, what secret mission are we on, M?"

"I want to figure out Chat Noir's identity."

* * *

Alya's enthusiasm for their new mission was palpable as she and Marinette gathered materials and information in the library.

"This is so great!" she gushed. "You've never wanted to do this stuff with me before! You're always like, nyah-nyah secret identities are dangerous!"

"They are!" Marinette insisted. "But I… I just figured—maybe the superheroes could use some help, right? And you and I would never try to hurt them! We could help them! Plus you run the Ladyblog, so you could filter the information that got out to the public!"

"Exactly!" Alya squealed. "Oh, I'm so excited! I've been trying to figure out their identities for awhile now, but you! You were able to get Adrien's whole schedule in a matter of _days_ , even though his father kept all that information from the public! You've gotta teach me your secrets!"

"I just paid attention, that's all," Marinette insisted. And she'd tried to do the same for Chat Noir ever since he'd started avoiding Ladybug, but he was much better at hiding. So she needed some help.

"I also wanna know the real reason you suddenly changed your mind," Alya said, giving her a knowing smile.

Instead of blushing and stammering, however, Marinette just looked sad, a hand going to her clutch purse automatically.

"I want to apologize to Chat," she said. "But I don't think he'll ever want to see me again. So I have no other way to contact him unless we do this."

"M, what happened?" Alya looked alarmed. "Does it have to do with the fight last night? God, that was awful. It looked like they were fighting each other! But akuma didn't look like it was controlling either of them!"

Marinette choked on the words. "I—I need to go to the bathroom real quick," she said, giving her friend a fake smile. "Be right back!"

She fled.

Once she got into the bathroom and checked that she was alone, she opened her bag.

"Tikki?" she called softly. The kwami didn't reply. The cookies in the bag also remained untouched. "Tikki, please. You have to eat!" Marinette pleaded.

"Why? So you can power up and attack Chat Noir again?" Tikki growled. "No thanks."

"I didn't mean for any of that to happen, Tikki! You know that! I thought he'd listen to me!"

"Close the bag, Marinette. Your friends are waiting to discover your secret identity."

"It's not—fine, then! Starve!" Marinette snapped, slamming it shut. She resisted the urge to throw the bag across the room. Instead, she sank down to the floor.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing!" she sobbed. "Why does it have to be so hard?"

 _She hadn't wanted to hurt Chat! But he was being so stubborn! Why couldn't he just listen to her? Why wasn't anyone listening to her? Was she the only one in the world who wanted to make some sense out of all this?_

 _She couldn't take out Hawkmoth and just leave Adrien with nothing! Plus, ever since she'd agreed to work with Hawkmoth, his akumas had become few and far between, with harmless powers! He was too busy getting his affairs in order!_

 _No. Even if she had to do this all alone, she would prevail! She would save_ _ **everyone**_ _!_

Marinette stood up and left the bathroom. She had almost reached the library when she saw Nino and Adrien in the hallway.

"I'm tellin' ya, man! Alya said it's gonna be great!" Nino was saying enthusiastically. "We'll be like sidekicks, helping the heroes and covering for them when they need it—"

"Don't you think if they wanted our help, they would've asked for it?" Adrien asked, sounding angry.

"Sometimes people don't wanna admit when they need help, man," Nino said, shaking his head. "Besides, Alya said it sounded like Marinette had some inside information—"

"What?!" Adrien exclaimed. Marinette couldn't help her own gasp and both guys looked at her in surprise. Adrien narrowed his eyes.

"—so we'll be able to figure them out that much easier," Nino finished awkwardly.

"Oh, _really_ ," Adrien growled, not looking away from Marinette.

She gulped. Out of everyone, Adrien was the only one who might have an idea of the real reason why she wanted Chat Noir's identity.

"I really do want to apologize to him," she squeaked. Adrien looked like he wanted to yell at her.

"I'm going home," he said instead, heading down the stairs. "You can call Nathalie and tell her to clear my schedule for the rest of the day, Marinette. I feel _sick_." He spat. Marinette felt her heart break.

"Adrien! Adrien, please!" she called after him. He didn't answer.

"Dude, did I miss something?" Nino asked slowly.

"Oh, Nino!" Alya said, stepping out of the library. "Marinette! Nino agreed to help us! And we've got some others from the class too! This is gonna be awesome! Oh, by the way, Nino, M says not to tell Adrien, okay?"

Nino facepalmed. "Dammit, babe. I wish you would've told me that first!"

"Why?" Alya asked, stopping short when she saw the stricken look on Marinette's face. "Oh. Oh no."

"I have to go!" Marinette said, determinedly wiping her eyes and heading after Adrien. "We'll have to meet up later, Alya!"

"What? But we've already got a big group ready to do this!"

* * *

End Chapter 13.


	14. Chapter 14 - Confess

**Chapter 14 - Confess**

Adrien must've contacted the Gorilla to take him home, because Marinette couldn't find him anywhere at school. Desperate to _at least_ talk to him, to not lose another important person in her life, she raced to the Agreste Manor as fast as her feet would take her.

Working for Mr. Agreste had its perks; she was able to buzz herself in and run into the house without waiting for Nathalie to open the door.

"Adrien? Adrien!" she called. Suddenly, Nathalie was blocking her way at the top of the stairs.

"Adrien doesn't want to talk to anyone right now," she said, with a smirk. Marinette stopped short. The other woman still hadn't forgiven her for spraying her with the fire extinguisher the other day. "And believe you're supposed to be in class, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Nathalie, please," Marinette begged.

"You should leave now, Marinette."

She hung her head and was about to turn and go, but then she clenched her fists.

 _Leave?_

 _Leave and do what?_

 _Go cry in a corner, all alone?_

 _What good would_ _ **that**_ _do her?_

 _Alya was the only friend she had left after this whole fiasco, and she wasn't even sure what she'd tell the other girl!_

 _No, she'd done it all for Adrien. He could at least hear her out!_

She raised her chin and marched up the stairs to Nathalie.

"Move," she demanded. Nathalie just raised an eyebrow. "Move now, or I'll call Mr. Agreste and you can answer to him, Nathalie!"

Nathalie clenched her teeth. "Fine. Drive Adrien further away. It's your loss." She stepped aside with a mocking bow.

Marinette ran past her.

 _Nathalie didn't know what she was talking about._

 _Adrien would hear her out. Adrien was her friend! He would listen. She would make him listen!_

"Adrien!" she called, bursting into his room. The blonde looked up sharply from where he sat at his computer.

He shot her a glare.

"You're-right-and-I'm-sorry-and-if-you'll-just-tell-Chat-Noir-I'm-sorry-too-I-promise-I'll-stop-looking-for-his-secret-identity," she said all in one breath.

Adrien blinked and then looked at her distrustfully. "You really think I'll try to contact him anytime soon? He's gone into full blackout-mode, Marinette."

 _Well, so much for having Nathalie go through his call list later._

 _Chat probably wouldn't even come out for akumas anymore. No matter how dangerous she let Hawkmoth make them._

 _She'd lost her partner._

 _Oh God,_ _ **she'd lost her partner**_ _._

The thought made her chest tighten.

"I really am doing all of this for you, Adrien," she said quietly.

"I know," Adrien sighed. "You're just doing what Ladybug told you to." He shook his head ruefully. "When I ran away, I still thought I had a good idea on who I could trust and who I couldn't, you know? Adding my father to the list of people I couldn't trust was bad enough—but now, Ladybug?"

"You _can_ trust Ladybug, Adrien!" Marinette insisted. "She's doing all of this for you too!"

Adrien gave a weak laugh. "For me? How could teaming up with Hawkmoth be for me?"

"Hawkmoth wants to make a wish, Adrien," Marinette explained. "He wants to bring back your mother."

Adrien's eyes widened.

"Ladybug's doing it all for you! So, when Hawkmoth is finally taken down, you won't be all alone! You'll have her back—"

"Ladybug told you all of this?" Adrien asked, looking suspicious again. "Why would she tell you all this? How much are _you_ helping Hawkmoth?"

"I—I—I…" Marinette stammered. _She had been so close to regaining his trust too! She just wanted Adrien to know how much she cared…._ She glanced down at her purse.

 _She couldn't rely on Tikki anymore._

 _She couldn't rely on Chat Noir._

 _She couldn't lose Adrien too!_

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I'm only helping Hawkmoth to make sure he gives the Miraculous back once his wish is fulfilled," she said, her stutter disappearing. "And to make sure Paris stays safe in the meantime. I'm not doing it because I've switched sides, and I certainly don't want to hurt Chat Noir.

"You can trust me, Adrien," she insisted, before he could ask questions. "You said you trusted me before. I want you to be safe. And happy. But I also have to take down Hawkmoth and save the city—"

"What are you—"

"And I didn't want to take away your whole family while doing it. I love you, Adrien. And I'll do anything I can to protect you."

Marinette let out a deep breath at Adrien's dumbstruck face.

 _That had been much easier to say than she'd thought!_

 _And it felt sooo good to_ _ **finally**_ _have it out in the open._

Adrien's eyes were now very wide indeed, and he was licking his lips nervously. "Marinette…." he began.

 _Oh, right. She'd forgotten the most important part!_

" _Tikki, spots on!"_

Adrien stumbled back as the magic enveloped her. She giggled as soon as her mask was in place. _Even gaping like a fish, he was far too cute for his own good._

"You-you're—!"

"At your service, Mr. Agreste," she said, with a theatrical bow. _There! A little bit of teasing should put him at ease—_

But when she looked up, Adrien was staring at her in horror.

"It's all right. It's still me," she said placatingly. "I'm still your friend. I'm here to protect you, I'll make things right with Chat Noir, and I'll make sure Paris is safe and your father's taken care of."

But he was still staring at her like he wanted to yell at her or cry, and couldn't decide which one to do first.

"Adrien—" Ladybug reached for him. He shied away from her.

"Leave," he choked out.

She jumped back as if he'd struck her. _This hadn't been what she'd expected when she revealed herself to him! She'd thought he'd at least be happy!_

"But—"

"You remember how you told me I should say something if someone's making me uncomfortable?" Adrien said shakily. "You're making me uncomfortable, Marinette. Lad-Ladybug. Please leave."

What was left of her heart shattered.

Tears stung her eyes, but she nodded and backed up.

" _Spots off_ ," she whispered, not trusting her voice. She ran out the door.

* * *

End Chapter 14.


	15. Chapter 15 - Heartache

**Chapter 15 - Heartache**

Marinette didn't stop running until she got to the park. She could barely see through all the tears. She picked a tree that looked out of the way and sank to the ground behind it. Then she drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms.

 _This wasn't what she wanted!_

 _This wasn't how it was supposed to go!_

 _Adrien should've changed his mind as soon as she explained everything to him! He should've been excited and_ _ **happy**_ _that she was Ladybug!_

 _Why was everything going wrong?!_

 _It seemed, no matter what she did, it only got worse!_

"Tikki," she sobbed. "Tikki, please! Talk to me!"

"What do you want me to say, Marinette?" the kwami asked, sounding resigned. "You've already done everything I've ever told you not to. It's not much use talking to you if you don't want to listen."

"But, Adrien—why wouldn't he—why wasn't he at least happy to see me?" Marinette asked. "He said before that he wanted Ladybug to be the one guarding him!"

"That was before he learned that you were working with Hawkmoth," Tikki reminded her. "And before you attacked Chat Noir."

"But I want to apologize for that!" Marinette insisted, her gut churning uncomfortably at the reminder. _The anger and_ _ **hurt**_ _on Chat's face that night… and that could be the last time she ever saw him…._

"Sorry, Marinette, it's hard to trust someone who'd turn their back on their partner to work with their greatest enemy," Tikki said.

Marinette swallowed. Worse than a liar; she was an oathbreaker. A traitor.

"What can I do to make this right?" she whispered.

"Keep your promises," Tikki suggested. "Take down Hawkmoth. Save Paris. Apologize to your friends and try to do things differently."

Marinette's heart lurched at the thought. _Yes, she wanted to apologize to Chat. But taking down Hawkmoth?_

 _Well, kicking Gabriel Agreste's face in would be the easy part._

 _The hard part… was the reminder of Adrien's broken sobbing as he confessed that his father was a supervillain. He'd been so scared. So sad._

"I can't do that to him," Marinette said softly.

Tikki sighed. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything anymore!"

* * *

As soon as she was gone, Adrien let out a long, loud scream.

 _It was HER. Marinette._

 _LADYBUG._

 _She was RIGHT THERE—had been there THE WHOLE TIME!_

 _HE'D RUN STRAIGHT TO HER AND HADN'T EVEN KNOWN IT!_

 _The one he thought he loved._

 _The one who betrayed him._

 _She attacked him!_

 _She'd refused to listen to him!_

 _My lady—NO! Not HIS Lady anymore!_

 _She was—_

Adrien screamed again and swept all the loose objects off his desk. _He needed to break something. To hit something. He really, really wanted to Cataclysm something, but he had a feeling his father was tuning into his negative emotions even now._

The thought made him even madder.

With a yell, he pounced on his bed and started pummeling his pillow.

 _All this stuff, and he didn't have a punching bag. He was sooo asking for a punching bag._

"Adrien? Are you okay?" Nathalie asked, tentatively stepping into his room.

"I'm FINE!" Adrien snarled.

His father's assistant turned pale and quickly left, closing the door behind her. Probably to go tell his fath—

Adrien leapt off the bed and followed her, flinging open the door.

"You know what, I'm NOT fine!" he yelled after her. "And you can tell my father that if he tries to akumatize me, I'M COMING AFTER HIS FLITTER-FLUTTERING, BUTTERFLY BUTT **FIRST**!"

He stormed back inside his room and slammed the door behind him.

In the hall, Nathalie and the Gorilla stood there, frozen in shock for a moment. Then the Gorilla started coughing.

 _At least, it'd better be coughing,_ Nathalie thought. He looked up at her with mirth in his eyes.

"I am not paid enough for this," she sighed, turning and heading back down the stairs. His roaring laughter followed her into the next room.

"Sir, I—"

"I heard," Gabriel Agreste said mildly, not looking up from his screen.

"Are you going to?"

Gabriel looked up at her with a frown that turned into a wry grin.

"I don't really think it's in my best interest, do you?" he said with a chuckle. "I have enough to worry about with Ladybug attempting to sabotage my next moves. I don't need Adrien learning more than he needs to."

"So, what should I do?"

"Simply remind my son that when he decides to go out in public again, he is to maintain an air of decorum, despite his feelings inside."

"Yes, sir."

"And Nathalie? Buy him a punching bag."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Kid, you need to calm down," Plagg said, swooping into his face as Adrien plopped down on the edge of his bed and pulled at his hair.

"I know, I know…," he muttered, sucking in a deep breath. He groaned and rubbed his face. He was going to have to apologize to Nathalie later. "Plagg, if an akuma does come, can you just stuff it in some camembert and eat it?"

Plagg gasped dramatically. "And infect my precious camembert?! Bite your tongue!"

Adrien chuckled weakly. "Why not? Ladybug turns her yoyo into Pacman and snaps it up."

"First off, Tikki and I are very different. Second, I am not a yoyo! Or Pacman!"

Adrien laughed again, feeling slightly better. He took another deep breath, this time allowing himself to relax.

"Plagg, could you distract me or something?" he asked.

"You want me to tell jokes? Sing? I could sing my 'Ode to Camembert' again."

"Could you tell me some stories?" Adrien asked, flopping down on his back. "You're thousands of years old, right? You must have some good ones."

"Oh, boy do I ever," Plagg cackled evilly. "Hang on, I need more camembert for this—Ok, let's see… ah! I know! Wanna hear how I cursed my old bearer?"

"Cursed him?! Plagg!"

"Hang on, hang on! Jerk totally deserved it," Plagg assured him. "He was one of those 'it's happening to someone else so it's not my problem' kind of guys. Hehee, I _made_ _it_ his problem! Gave him bad luck everywhere he went, unless he suited up to combat injustice and bad guys! Tripping! Things falling on his head! Big events get cancelled last minute! Rain. Rain _everywhere_. Just missed his bus!"

"Huh," Adrien snorted. That sounded like something Plagg would do. But this story had a big plothole… "Why didn't he just take the ring off?"

Plagg cackled again as he took a big bite of camembert. "I made it so he couldn't! Literally, _magically_ bound it to him! No one, not even _he_ could take it off!"

"So, what happened?" Adrien asked, his own problems forgotten as his interest in the story grew. "I mean, obviously, they got the ring off eventually…. Eh, they didn't cut off his finger, did they?"

"Nah, nothing like that," Plagg said. "Remember how I said he was a jerk? Well, I made the cure for the spell be… dun duh-na naaaaa _, true love's kiss_!"

"Of course," Adrien said, rolling his eyes.

Another 'true love's kiss' picture flashed through his memory, and he grimaced.

"And whenever he transformed, he totally lost control of his inhibitions! It was hilarious!" Plagg was continuing. "Just imagine it, this total stick-in-the-mud, hooting and yelling, and laughing—and he told me himself later that he probably needed it more than he wanted to admit—"

Adrien smiled as Plagg continued to ramble.

* * *

End Chapter 15.


	16. Chapter 16 - Surprise

**Chapter 16 - Surprise**

"Adrien, your father would like to talk to you," Nathalie informed him primly the next morning.

Adrien groaned as he rolled out of bed and blinked at her through blurry eyes. "Can I reschedule it?" he asked, rubbing his face to try and wake up. A quick glance at the window told him it was barely dawn. _Lovely_.

"No," Nathalie said with a low chuckle. "Ladybug is with him. They're waiting for you."

Adrien suppressed the urge to groan again. "Yay," he said instead, trying (and failing) to show some enthusiasm.

 _C'mon,_ he told himself as he got up and got dressed, _these are arguably the two people you care most about in this world—_

 _And they're both trying to hunt you down._

 _God, what a depressing thought._

As soon as Nathalie was gone, Adrien turned to where Plagg was hiding.

"What are the chances of me being able to take them both down before they realize what's happening?" he asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Plagg gave him a disbelieving stare, then snorted and started laughing.

"Figures," Adrien muttered.

"Your father, maybe," Plagg gasped out. "If he wasn't suited up and didn't happen to be monitoring your emotions. But the Bug? Ehhh…."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy."

"It's what I'm here for," Plagg said happily, zipping up to Adrien's jacket. "Taking on both of them together, though? No way, kid. Your best chance to make it through the day is to simply be the perfect little son and pretty little model they see you as."

Adrien's heart sank as he thought of Marinette. "You really think that's how she sees me?"

"Dunno, kid. I'm not a mind reader. But she doesn't really tend to _talk_ around you…."

Adrien sighed again and headed downstairs. Even before he got to his father's office, he heard their voices.

"—still risky! He could—"

"He could be flattened like a pancake the next time you lose control!"

"I do NOT lose control!"

"You do too! Half my job is chasing your stupid creations all over town! If they were really after my Miraculous—"

"Are you suggesting that I—"

Adrien knocked on the door. "Is this a bad time?" he called. "I can get breakfast and come back later…."

"Adrien!" Ladybug greeted cheerfully, throwing open the door. Adrien gulped as Marinette's face stared back at him from behind the mask.

 _Wow, how had he never seen that before?_

Well, actually, he knew how. Last night, Plagg had explained all about the magical glamour that protected their identities. It was part of the reason why he was so tired this morning. Still, surprise was easy to feign. The shock of seeing Marinette again after all that….

"Uh, hi, um, Ma—"

"Marinette told me about the little spat you two had yesterday," Ladybug said, interrupting him and winking.

 _Oh. So, his father must not know her secret identity. That was… a relief, actually._

"I'm sorry to hear about it," she continued. "I didn't mean to make things awkward for you."

"Oh, umm… it's… not your fault," Adrien said, playing along.

"It's still an issue," his father said with a grimace. "I shall be talking to Miss Dupain-Cheng later today about professionalism. She had a duty to you that did _not_ include chasing you all the way home if you didn't want to talk to her."

"In any case!" Ladybug said quickly. "Your father and I have come up with another solution to ensure your safety."

Adrien blinked. "No more akumas?" he asked hopefully.

Ladybug and Gabriel both burst out laughing.

 _Great. Not only had **he** __somehow_ _become the voice of reason in this family, but no one was taking him seriously!_

"Sadly, we still need the akumas to flush out Chat Noir," Ladybug said, shaking her head regretfully. Adrien narrowed his eyes at her and she quickly backtracked. "Not to hurt him, I promise! And I'll be doing damage control the whole time too! But we both wanted to make extra sure that you don't get hurt, and—"

"—And since you have a tendency to slip past your bodyguard whenever possible," his father continued, stepping around his console towards his son, "I decided to give you something a little more… personal."

He held out his hand to Adrien. Settled in his palm was a shining, blue pin in the shape of a peacock. It looked strangely familiar. Adrien's mouth went dry.

"Is that… a Miraculous?" he asked slowly. He'd definitely seen something like it when he'd stolen his father's book.

"It is indeed," his father said proudly. "Your mother and I searched for the Miraculouses for many years. The Peacock Brooch was the first one we found. Your mother used it up until her disappearance."

Adrien stepped away from the Brooch to stop himself from taking it and cradling it to his heart. _It had been his mother's… something of Mom's…._

"Adrien, just think!" Ladybug said excitedly. "We can be superheroes together!"

He froze before he could snap at her. _No. He couldn't—he couldn't—_ But he couldn't help but glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You already have a partner," he reminded her quietly.

She winced as if he'd slapped her.

"Sorry," Adrien said immediately. "I'm sorry. That was rude—"

"But true," Ladybug admitted.

"You will not be needed to fight, Adrien," his father said. "Rather, we will be relying on the protective properties of the suit to keep you out of harm's way, should my akumas prove… insubordinate. Of course, if you _happen_ to see Chat Noir…."

Adrien firmly reminded himself to breathe.

"And the rest of Paris?" he asked bitterly. "They can just suffer?"

"Your father has promised to keep the monsters… tame," Ladybug said slowly. "And I can purify everything as usual afterwards."

Adrien swallowed. "I think I'm going to have to decline," he said shakily, glancing at the Peacock Miraculous again. "Besides… a peacock's a bird, and I have feather allergies, remember?"

"Actually, I believe having Duusu will cancel out your sensitivity," his father said. "And if not, well, we have plenty of antihistamines available."

"Duusu?"

"The kwami's name."

"Oh." That cleared it up, but then Adrien realized he wasn't supposed to _know_ —"uh, what's a kwami?"

Ladybug giggled at the confused face he put on for show. "They're the magical beings that give us our powers," she explained. "Mine's name is Tikki!"

"And mine is Nooroo," Gabriel added. "Nooroo, you may join us." Adrien didn't have to fake his surprise as a tiny, pale-purple kwami floated up beside his father.

 _OMG. For a creature who creates supervillains, he was incredibly cute!_

Nooroo waved at him shyly. Adrien waved back and glanced at Ladybug. She shrugged.

"Mine can't come out unless I de-transform," she said. "And since…." She gave his father a significant look. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"And since you refuse to give up your identity—making this very un-equal, by the way—"

"I'm not here to make it equal," Ladybug said sweetly. "I'm here to keep you in line."

"As you wish," Gabriel said through gritted teeth. He gestured to Adrien. "Take the Brooch, son. Perhaps Duusu will be able to convince you where we could not."

Adrien was about to refuse again, but Plagg gave him a little nudge under his jacket. He nodded and accepted it from his father. The Miraculous felt warm against his palm.

"Strange," his father said, cocked his head in confusion, "the kwami usually comes out once it's in the hands of its bearer." He narrowed his eyes at Adrien.

"M-maybe Adrien's not quite ready to accept the Miraculous," Nooroo chirped nervously, shooting Adrien a panicked look. Adrien felt his heart jump.

 _Nooroo_ _ **knew**_ _. He_ _ **knew**_ _and he was keeping it a secret!_

 _Finally! Someone was on his side!_

"Or, I know my kwami waited until I was completely alone," Ladybug added, thinking. "And she seems to have a sixth sense whenever someone's coming… well, most of the time," she added with a fond shake of her head. She smiled at Adrien.

"Why don't you go ahead and go bond with your kwami?" she suggested cheerfully. "I can't wait to see what you look like as a superhero!"

 _I'm a handsome cat who used to look at you like you hung the moon,_ he wanted to snark. Instead, he nodded and left, fleeing to his room once again.

* * *

End Chapter 16.


	17. Chapter 17 - Bumping Into Each Other

**Chapter 17 - Bumping Into Each Other**

Adrien made sure his bedroom door was locked as soon as he was inside. Then he ran to his bed and dropped the Peacock Miraculous like it had burned him.

 _To think, they expected him to—_

"Well, this complicates things," Plagg remarked, also eyeing the brooch like a poisonous snake.

"I can't use it, can I?"

"Absolutely not," the black cat huffed. "We kwamis don't share!"

"What about the earrings?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't the whole point of this to combine them with the power of the ring?"

"That's different, kid. Tikki's my counterpoint. My other half. The Yin to my Yang—or am I the Yin? Ehh, it really depends on our bearers, it's gone both ways in the past…"

"Plagg, focus!"

"Right. Well, the point is, Tikki and I were made to work together. Me and Bird-Brain there," Plagg said indicating the brooch, "were not. If you want to use it, you'll have to renounce me first."

"Renounce you?" Adrien repeated.

"Deny. Discard. You'll have to reject the ring."

"I can't do that!"

"I agree. I'm much better than Feather Head."

"So, what should I do?" Adrien moaned. "I can't give it back to them!"

"Nope, that's a Bad Idea," Plagg agreed.

Not only would they become suspicious again, but the whole 'giving superpowers to the bad guys' didn't really sit well with Adrien. Plus they might choose somebody else to wield it, and then he'd have three supervillains after him!

He cringed a little bit at labeling Ladybug a supervillain, but right now, it was true….

"No worries, kid," Plagg was saying. "I know a guy who can take this off our hands. I'll put the coordinates in the baton."

"Plagg, I can't transform!" Adrien exclaimed. "They're probably just waiting for me to come out… in—in full peacock-transformation mode!"

"Boy, are _you_ bad at naming things…."

"You know what I mean!"

"So, what's the plan then, genius?" Plagg asked, looking at him suspiciously. Adrien looked at him, then at the Brooch. Slowly, hesitantly, he took off his ring.

"Plagg… I renounce you."

* * *

A few minutes later, a blue figure swooped out of the mansion, whooping loud enough to attract attention. Ladybug raced outside to catch a glimpse of him, but when she tried to catch up to the quick figure, he was nowhere to be found.

Pouting a bit _(Adrien in a skin-tight suit! Adrien in a skin-tight suit! Who wouldn't want to see Adrien in a skin-tight suit?!)_ , she tried to call him on her compact. He didn't answer. She didn't worry too much though. It had taken her a few tries to figure it all out too. She'd just give him some time to himself, to feel the joy of being a superhero.

Part of her felt guilty at replacing Chat Noir like this—a really big part.

 _But still, what would Adrien call himself? Blue Bird? Plume Bleu? Le Peon? Whatever it was, it was sure to be great! Oh, she was so excited!_

* * *

Marinette didn't see Adrien again until his bodyguard dropped him off for school later.

"Adrien! Adrien!" she called. He waved nervously, looking slightly-less-than-happy to see her. She ignored it. He was probably just nervous, now that he knew her secret identity! She looked him up and down, searching for the Peacock Miraculous. "Where's your brooch?" she asked, not finding it.

"O-oh that… am I supposed to wear it all the time?" he asked nervous.

"Yes!" she scolded, hands on her hips. "How else is it supposed to protect you?"

"My bad," he said, laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Oops, it looks like class is about to start! I'll go get it at lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Marinette pouted, a bit disappointed that she still hadn't seen him transform yet.

* * *

At lunch, Adrien rushed out the door before she could join him. _Oh well, it'd been a while since she'd eaten lunch with her parents,_ Marinette decided. She just had to be patient.

* * *

After lunch, she managed to catch him just before class.

"Well?" she asked, trying—really trying—to be patient. Adrien smiled and opened his jacket, showing her the little silver brooch shaped like a flower (the same one he'd often seen his mother wear,) that he'd pinned to the inside of the fabric.

"I didn't want it to get in the way of photoshoots," he explained. "Now I don't have to constantly take it on and off."

"Makes sense," Marinette said, shrugging. "But it kinda looks like Sabrina's old brooch that Chloe gave her."

"Oh, uh… yeah," Adrien said, biting his lip and looking nervous again. "Turns out, my father has a whole line of jewelry based off the Miraculouses. His 'inspiration,' you know…."

"That must be where Lila got her necklace from too!"

Adrien nodded. "Well, we'd better get inside… don't wanna be late…."

"Aww, can't I meet your kwami first?" Marinette pouted.

"He's, uh, shy," Adrien said sharply, heading into class.

Marinette frowned after him. "He? I thought Hawkmoth said Duusu was a she?"

"Duusu is a _kwami_ ," Tikki grumbled from her purse, sticking her head out to glare at her bearer. "We can be any gender we want."

"Oh, you're talking to me now?"

"Just clearing things up," Tikki said primly. She disappeared back into the bag. The bell rang. Marinette had to dive into her seat before the teacher saw her.

* * *

"Hey, Adrien! What are you doing after school?" Marinette asked. _She was hoping to finally see him transform. And maybe he could even meet Tikki. He was so sweet, her kwami was sure to cheer up!_

"I asked my father for an extra photoshoot this afternoon," Adrien said, heading towards his car. "So, I'll be busy. Don't worry, I'll be safe. See you tomorrow."

Marinette blinked in shock as he left. "You… you _asked_ for another photoshoot?"

Alya came up behind her. "Has Adrien seemed weird to you lately?" she asked casually.

"N-n-n-no, no! Of course not!" Marinette said quickly. "He's just—very dedicated to his job…."

"He's avoiding you, isn't he," Alya deadpanned.

"N-n-no! No! That's not—"

"Why else were you fired?" Alya asked raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't! I wasn't fired… he just… found… a better solution," Marinette's shoulders drooped.

"C'mon, girl," Alya said firmly. "We're having an ice-cream-and-comedy night at my place. I'll call Nino and tell him no boys allowed."

"B-but—"

 _She really wanted to see Adrien transform!_

"No buts, girl. You need this. Come on."

* * *

The next day, Marinette was filled with excitement and energy. Gabriel was (reluctantly) letting her shadow Adrien again today. _Today was the day!_

* * *

"Adrien! Would you like to join Alya and me for lunch?" Marinette asked, holding up a picnic basket. "Nino can come too!"

"Great!" Nino said, looking delighted.

"Sorry," Adrien said, gathering his things, "I promised Chloe I'd eat with her today. It's been awhile since we've hung out together, and you know how she is…."

"O-of course!" Marinette said, smiling and waving. Adrien gave her a small smile before he left.

* * *

"H-hey, Adrien! Do you want to grab some supper?" Marinette asked, after a particularly long photoshoot.

"No thanks, Marinette," Adrien smiled. "You should go eat with your family. I've kept you away from them long enough!

* * *

 _Today was not the day._

 _Neither was the next day._

* * *

"Adrien, could you help me with my physics homework after school?" Marinette asked bashfully. "I'm stuck on number eight."

Adrien rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "I kinda promised Nino that we could have a guy's night tonight, Marinette. Sorry, I forgot to tell you…."

"Oh," Marinette said, her hopes dropping, "that's okay. No problem!"

"But you're getting much better at physics," he quickly added. "I bet you'll have it figured out in no time!"

* * *

"Dude, are you avoiding Marinette?" Nino asked lowly as Adrien joined him in the library without the girls once again.

"Of course not," Adrien said without any emotion. "There's no way I could. I literally have to see her every day. She's part of my _schedule_."

Nino stared at him with wide eyes. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked slowly.

"Not particularly."

"Okaaay," Nino said. "But you know I'm here for you when you're ready to talk, right?"

Adrien fingered the silver ring on his hand. "Thanks, man."

* * *

End Chapter 17.

 _A/N: Guys, just so you all know, I'm only able to update this fast because we're playing catch up. Please don't expect multiple updates a day from me or any other writer on here._ Especially _me. (Winces at the followers of Consequences and After the Battle giving me the stink eye.)_


	18. Chapter 18 - Umbrella

**Chapter 18 - Umbrella**

Adrien was _definitely_ avoiding her.

 _But WHY?_

Marinette couldn't figure it out. _Shouldn't he be_ _ **glad**_ _one of his friends was a famous superhero? Shouldn't he be delighted that she wanted_ _ **him**_ _to be a superhero too? That she wanted to help bring his beloved mother back?_

 _Shouldn't he have at least_ _ **said something**_ _when she'd told him that she loved him?!_

But he hadn't mentioned it at all. Not one word.

"And he hasn't called me 'Mari' in over a week, Tikki!" Marinette moaned. _That was a bad sign, right? If you stopped using affectionate nicknames for someone?_ Maybe she should've thought something up for him…. Just to show him that she cared.

 _Ok, ok, think, Marinette!_

Well, Hot Stuff was right out. She'd die of shame.

Sugar? Muffin? Cupcake? _Ugh, she lived in a bakery! Those got old so fast!_

What had Alya called him? Sunshine? _Eh, it was okay…_ but she'd said it to tease him. Marinette wanted to show him affection, not tease him… _Okay, that one was out. Besides, she wanted to come up with her own!_

Maybe something to do with his name?

A-man? _No, that sounded like something a guy would call him_.

'Drien? _Ugh, why not just say the whole thing_?

Double A? _That wasn't bad…_ She got a sudden mental image of her walking up to Adrien. "Hey, Double A!" Cue finger guns and a wink.

 _Oh, Hell no._ Marinette groaned and collapsed face-first on her chaise lounge. _Just bury her now and be done with it._

"You might have bigger things to worry about, Marinette," Tikki said. "I don't think this rain is natural."

"Rain?" Marinette said, looking up from her despair to peek out the window. Sure enough, it was pouring outside. "It's not supposed to rain today!"

* * *

Adrien watched the rain pour down as Mr. D'Argencourt moaned about the lost practice time. _Unnatural…_ he could feel it in his bones. There was an akuma out there.

He wondered how long it would take Marinette to find it, if she wasn't already aware of it. He'd quietly asked M. D'Argencourt not to have any bystanders today, claiming they were distracting him. It had broken his heart a little to see how easily she accepted the news and left.

He hoped she didn't call him to make sure he was safe. This charade was hard enough to maintain. He rubbed at his chest where the pin had brushed against him all day long.

A flash of yellow had him rushing to the window for a closer look. Yup, that must be the akuma. Electricity-based, if he had to guess, which explained the lightning storm. (Yeesh, another storm akuma? Wasn't Stormy Weather enough? Was Hawkmoth running out of ideas?)

A flash of red brought him out of his thoughts as Ladybug chased the akuma over the rooftops, yelling at it angrily. Adrien smirked. Looks like his father hadn't cleared this monster with his "partner."

He should ignore this. They'd both just turn on him if he showed up. But… he thought back to what the old man had said. The one Plagg had called Master Fu.

* * *

" _I am both surprised and not that you would bring this back to me," the old master said, gently touching the Peacock Miraculous. "On the one hand, you are trustworthy and noble; willing to sacrifice your own happiness for others. But on the other, you are still a dutiful son who still holds love and respect for his father, despite everything he's done."_

" _How can I hate him?" Adrien asked sadly. "He's doing all this for me."_

" _Is that what you believe?"_

" _It's what he said. Ladybug believes him."_

 _Fu chuckled. "Ladybug is young and impressionable still. I think many of us have forgotten that in the light of the good work she's done. But you did not answer my question. What do_ _ **you**_ _believe?"_

" _That she's being duped," Adrien muttered. He looked at Fu apologetically. "But I know that's not right," he assured the older man. "She's my partner. I should trust her—"_

" _She_ _ **is**_ _your partner. That does not make your opinion invalid," Fu said firmly. "If anything, she should be listening to you more, if only because you are closer to the situation and understand your opponent better."_

 _Adrien sighed in relief as a great weight lifted off his shoulders. All these days of loneliness and uncertainty…. Ladybug saying "trust me!" His father saying "I'm doing this for the greater good!" He hadn't realized how badly he'd needed to hear that his feelings still mattered. He'd begun to think he was just being stubborn…._

" _You should take the Cat Ring too, sir," he said quickly, offering it. "Otherwise, they'll—"_

" _Ladybug is also aware of who I am," Fu cut in. "She may decide to come for the rest of the Miraculouses. Your ring will be no safer in my hands._

" _Besides, young Chat Noir," he continued with a chuckle, "are you that ready to give up on your partner?"_

" _What? No, of course not!" Adrien exclaimed. "I just… I don't want to be the one to fight her. Them. Either of them." He hung his head miserably._

 _Fu studied him for a moment. "It is a great burden I ask of you," he said slowly. "And yet, I can think of no one better. From the start, Adrien, you have been a protector; using your powers to defend both yourself and Ladybug. More often than not, you use your Cataclysm to trap your opponents or secure your own freedom. Not all Cats have been so well-meaning. But instead of using it to harm, you use it to help. Do you really want to entrust the fate of your father and your friend to another? One who might not hesitate to use the Power of Destruction against them?"_

 _Adrien swallowed and closed his hand around the ring, pulling it close._

" _So, it's up to me then," he said quietly._

" _Do not be so quick to give up on the ones you love," Fu advised him. "It is not over yet. The important thing is for you to not lose sight of who you are."_

* * *

Ladybug was furious. _An akuma that could control lightning? REALLY?_ And Nathalie had assured her that the akuma was electricity-only. She thought he'd be messing with their cable, not creating thunderstorms!

Her yoyo rang. _FINALLY. Hawkmoth better have a good excuse!_ She stopped on the same rooftop Chat had tried to romance her at, not-so-long-ago. _No time to think about her wayward partner, she needed to stop this monster as soon as possible!_ She answered her yoyo.

"My apologies, Miss Bug," Hawkmoth said smoothly. "I did not expect him to figure out how to build up the static like that. But the process was fascinating to watch."

"Well, you'd better fix it, now!" Ladybug snarled.

"Why?" the villain sounded genuinely surprised. "No one has truly been hurt, as per your request, and I think I have figured out a way to finally draw out the stray."

"What? How?"

"By attacking _you_."

Ladybug felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She whirled, just in time to see a flash of light arcing towards her. _No time to block it!_ She screamed and covered her face.

A flash of silver buried itself into the building in front of her, attracting the lightning to it instead. She gasped. Chat Noir's baton, acting like a lightning rod….

She wasted no more time and had no mercy for the akuma, defeating it with a flurry of attacks that left the victim gasping, even after she purified him.

One yoyo-call later had her snapping at Hawkmoth. "You and I are gonna have a _talk_ later!"

"Fine, but did you get Chat Noir's Miraculous?"

Ladybug said something decidedly un-ladylike and hung up on him.

The battle had carried her a bit away from the rooftop where they'd started, but she made it back there in record time.

 _No baton._

Ladybug felt tears welling up.

Her earrings beeped.

Still, she stayed, looking frantically around, calling her partner's name.

"Chat Noir! Chat Noir?!"

Nothing.

She gave up long enough to go home and drop her transformation (that last attack had taken a lot out of Tikki) and grab her umbrella. (The storm still hadn't let up. Either the akuma had been too strong, or Tikki's near-constant refusal to eat was catching up with her.)

Then she was back outside, calling for the superhero again. _He had to be around here somewhere! He'd been close enough to save her in the nick of time! Was it too much to hope that he was still keeping track of her?_

Still, no sight of him.

The sight of their statue was too much for her. Letting loose a grief-stricken sob, Marinette threw herself down on a bench in the park and finally just let herself cry.

 _One mistake and she'd lost everything!_

 _One bad move and she'd been abandoned!_

 _Was there any way to make this right again?_

"You know, princess, this thing works best if you hold it over your head instead of letting it lay in the mud."

Marinette gasped and looked up. There was Chat, holding her umbrella above her and giving her his usual smirk.

* * *

End Chapter 18.


	19. Chapter 19 - Partners

**Chapter 19 - Partners**

"Chat!" Marinette cried joyfully, launching herself into his arms. He laughed as he caught her, pulling her closer as she wound her arms around him. The umbrella fell back onto the ground beside them, forgotten. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" she mumbled into his chest. She felt him chuckle.

"Miss me, bugaboo?" he asked teasingly, tucking her under his chin and purring.

"More than you know," she said, sighing in relief as her whole body melted against him. Then, just as quickly, she tensed. "Wait, what?"

"What?"

"You called me… bugaboo…." Marinette pulled back to stare at him for a moment. "Adrien…?" she said slowly.

Chat Noir paled.

"Adrien told you my secret identity, didn't he?"

"Oh! Uh… well, yeah…." Chat said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

She closed her eyes and sighed. _She should've known. Adrien had told her he was friends with Chat! And then she'd gone and revealed herself to him. Of course he'd tell the one person who should know!_

"I guess I had that coming, huh?" she said wryly. Resigned, she rested her head against his chest again. "You could take my earrings," she offered. "I wouldn't be able to stop you. Even if I wanted to."

"Now, what part of our time together," he pulled back and lifted her chin, so she was looking right at him, "makes you think I'd take advantage of a lady in a moment of weakness?"

Marinette's eyes filled with tears, even as he scooped her up in his arms and leapt towards her balcony.

"I don't deserve you," she said.

He gave her a wink as he set her down. "I think that's up to me, isn't it?" That coaxed a smile out of her, even if it wasn't up to his usual humor standards. "You should go warm up," he suggested softly, indicating the hatch to her room. "And tell your kwami I said to eat. She's got someone I know worried about her. And I'm going to need you both at the top of your game."

Marinette jerked. "No point in asking for your ring, then, huh?"

"Aww, my lady," he grinned, "I'll gladly give you a ring, but not until I've properly proposed!"

"Aaand he's back," Marinette grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"To be fair, you walked right into that one."

"I really did," she agreed and then sighed. "Would it change your mind if I told you I wanted it to help Adrien?"

Chat Noir studied her for a moment.

"Why don't you go talk to Adrien about it?" he suggested. "See how _he_ feels about all this."

"Has he said something to you?" she asked desperately.

"Ah, ah, ah, Buginette. No cheating," Chat scolded, waggling his finger at her. "You gotta talk to the guy yourself. Right after you get dry and warm again."

She was shivering, she realized, as he opened the hatch for her and gave her a hand down.

"Oh, wait! My umbrella!" she remembered. They must've left it in the park.

"I'll get it and drop it off at Adrien's," Chat offered. "It looks like the rain's letting up anyway."

Marinette gave him a grateful look. "Thank you, Chat Noir."

"See you around, my lady."

* * *

"Did you hear, Tikki? He's not mad at me! He wants to work with me again!" Marinette said joyfully as she changed out of her wet clothes.

"Oh, I wouldn't say he's not mad at you," Tikki said from her desk, her mouth full of cookies. "He's just being the bigger person here."

Marinette made a face at her kwami. "Oh, hey, you're eating!" she realized.

"It sounded like Chat had a plan," Tikki said, swallowing. "And I approve of his idea to talk to Adrien. You really need to get his side of the story."

"I _got_ his side of the story!" Marinette huffed. "Remember? Cute guy? Crying in my room? Scared of his dad being a supervillain? I fixed that!"

"Which is why Adrien's been so happy with you lately, huh?" Tikki snarked. "And you didn't _fix_ his dad being a supervillain, you just tried to smooth things over!"

"I'm not having this argument again with you, Tikki!"

"Fine," the kwami sniffed. "Talk to Adrien. But what are you gonna do about Hawkmoth?"

Marinette faltered as she brushed her hair. "I guess… that'll depend…."

"He _attacked_ you, Marinette," Tikki reminded her.

Marinette bit her lip.

* * *

Plagg zoomed towards his fridge as soon as he was out of the ring.

"Whew," he laughed. "Boy, are _you_ lucky that girl isn't very good at being evil! She could've totally had you today!"

"Marinette's not evil," Adrien said, setting the umbrella down beside the window, "and I bet she's hated this as much as I have. We were meant to be together, after all." He rubbed his ring and smiled.

"And if she wants you to transform into the Miraculous Peacock?" Plagg asked.

"I'll tell her I'm tired or something," Adrien said, shrugging.

"And her meeting Duusu?"

Adrien gave his kwami an evil grin. "How do you feel about blue paint?"

"Not a chance."

"Oh, come on!"

"No."

"I'll bet Tikki would go along with it!"

"Tikki goes along with a lot of things!" Plagg argued. "If _you_ switched sides, I'd just drop books on your head until I knocked some sense into you!"

Adrien laughed. "That's… surprisingly comforting to know, actually."

"Better believe it, kid. You got any better ideas?"

"Other than suiting up and becoming an orphan by midnight?"

Plagg actually dropped his camembert in shock. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"No."

"Whew, I was gonna ask what you did with the real Adrien," Plagg said, swooping down to recover his cheese.

"Hmm… the real Adrien…," Adrien pondered for a moment. "Adrien. Not Chat." He nodded. "We're gonna need snacks and drinks! Plagg, what does Tikki like to eat?"

"Cookies!" Plagg chirped immediately.

Adrien paused. "Are you serious? And Marinette lives above a bakery?" He burst out laughing. "Is that why we were chosen?"

"Noooo, of _course_ not!" Plagg said sarcastically, giving his bearer a wink as he gulped down another wedge of cheese.

* * *

End Chapter 19.


	20. Chapter 20 - Scarf

**Chapter 20 – Scarf**

It was still drizzling when Marinette left for Adrien's house. She considered transforming to get there, just to be dry when she arrived, but she wanted to have a conversation with Adrien as Marinette, not Ladybug (having Tikki's insight on all this might help; she'd been ignoring the kwami too much lately). She also didn't want to chance Hawkmoth figuring out her identity, now more than ever.

Besides, she really _did_ have her own umbrella. She'd simply forgotten it on the second day of school and had used Adrien's ever since, as a symbol of her love for him. _(And to give it back of course! Of course! It was just… a lot nicer than hers….)_

She sighed as she let herself into the Manor. She _should_ talk to Hawkmoth first about that little stunt he'd pulled earlier, but… well, she really wanted to punch his face in, and that just didn't seem like a productive thing to do. Satisfying, yes. But…

 _No. Talking to Adrien was more important. She'd figure out what he wanted to do—and who knew? Maybe he'd want to get a hit in himself!_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she knocked on Adrien's door and he flung it open wide.

"Mari!" he said, beaming at her and pulling her into a hug.

Marinette blinked, frozen in shock.

 _Talk about a 180 in personality! He'd been ignoring her or actively avoiding her for the past few days! Had he been akumatized or something?!_

"A-a-adrien?" she stuttered.

"Come in, come in!" he said jovially. "Our mutual friend stopped by and told me you'd be coming," he whispered to her as he waved at the Gorilla before closing the door.

"O-oh!" Marinette stammered. Chat Noir had been here already. She looked around hopefully, but the rest of the room was empty. _Darn. No Chat in sight._ _Okay, but was Adrien expecting an apology too? Had she really done anything_ _ **wrong**_ _to him? She couldn't think of anything…._ "Umm, Adrien…?"

"I thought we could talk," Adrien said quickly, guiding her over to the couch. "So, I had some snacks and drinks brought in, and we can put on a movie to cover up our voices. Sound good?"

Marinette could only nod dumbly as she stared. _He'd had_ _ **some**_ _stuff brought in? His table was covered in different snacks (a mixture of sweet, salty, and savory foods) and cups and bottles full of different drinks! Wow… he was really going all out here! Almost like a—no, Marinette! Don't get your hopes up! It's not a date! You're just going to be talking about serious, grown-up things!_

"Got any preferences on the movie?" he asked, starting up the TV.

"No, anything's fine. Well, no horror—"

"Don't worry, I remember," he assured her with a smile and a wink.

 _marinette. exe has stopped working_

 _Not fair. That wink was_ _ **not fair.**_ _And he was killing her with that smile. That smile should be illegal!_

"Adrien…," she said slowly. "I, um…. I want to talk, but—"

"Not enough? Should I turn down the lights?"

"NO!" she nearly screamed _._

 _The things her imagination would come up with if he tried for mood lighting?!_

She cleared her throat and started again. "The lights are fine," she said, sitting primly on the couch in a vain attempt to look put-together.

Adrien smiled at her and chuckled, before bursting into full-out laughter.

"What? What is it?" Marinette asked, looking around for the source of his hilarity. "Did I do something? Do I have something on my face?"

"It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" he said, also sitting down on the couch. _(But he looked a lot more relaxed than her, that was for sure!)_ Marinette blinked at him in bewilderment and he gestured to the room. "Does it make you uncomfortable? Knowing I did all this for you?"

She felt her face turn bright red.

"I mean, it's not suddenly getting a new job or working with Hawkmoth," he added, looking away. "But it's a lot. And when it's all for you, it's hard to get mad at the person doing it, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Right?"

Marinette stared at him. _She made him feel uncomfortable? Yeah, he'd said that, but she'd thought it was a one-time thing! Had she been bothering him this whole time?_

"I'm—I'm so sorry," she choked out.

"It's all right," Adrien said. "I'm really not mad at you. It's just… well, I've gotten used to people talking over me or ignoring what I have to say, thinking _they_ know what I want better than _I_ do. And I'm sick of it. I didn't want our talk to be like that. So, I figured, maybe if I showed you what it felt like… you'd understand where I'm coming from. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable…."

"No, you didn't—well, I—this is fine," Marinette assured him. She thought about it for a moment.

 _He was partially right. She'd come here, intending to tell him what she had planned. It hadn't really mattered what he thought, because she was so sure he'd change his mind…._

"I think I get what you were trying to say," she said slowly. "I've put a lot on you these past few days, haven't I?"

"It's been a bit overwhelming," Adrien admitted, ducking his head. "I thought my dad turning into a supervillain was bad! But now, you're, well, _you_ … and I'm… _me_ … and _he's_ …." Adrien threw his hands up and huffed in frustration.

Marinette giggled.

"I get it," she said, nodding. She was Ladybug, his father was her nemesis, and now they had turned Adrien into a superhero too. _Overwhelming to say the least! And—_

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she said. She opened her purse. "You haven't met Tikki yet! Tikki, this is Adrien. Adrien, Tikki."

The red kwami swooped out of the bag. "It's nice to finally meet you, Adrien," she said.

"You too!" Adrien said, looking delighted. Then he remembered something. "Oh! And Plag—er, Duusu made a kwami-nest up on the second story if you want to join him." He pointed to level above them.

"Can I meet him too?" Marinette asked excitedly, as Tikki immediately flew up.

"Sorry, he's still kinda shy," Adrien said, ducking his head in embarrassment. "That whole kwami rule about not letting other people see them and all…." They both turned as Tikki suddenly disappeared with an "oof!"

"Tikki?" Marinette called worriedly.

"I'm okay!" the kwami called back, giggling. "Get _off_ me, you big lug!"

"For someone who's shy, he's sure enthusiastic," Marinette said, craning her head to try to get a look at the blue-themed kwami-nest. "What did he make the nest out of? Is that the scarf I made for you-oouuuu—I mean… the scarf I saw—on you—for your birthday?! Hehe, he he…." She stumbled and backtracked and awkwardly tried to cover her faux-pas, but it was too late.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. " _You_ made that scarf?"

"What?! Me? Nooo, I mean… who makes scarves? What scarf? I don't see a scarf!"

"Alya's right. You have the worst poker face _ever_."

Marinette groaned and covered her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spoil it—"

"No, it's okay," Adrien said, also looking up towards the kwami-nest. "I should've known something was up when my father suddenly gave me a thoughtful birthday gift, but nothing else about his attitude changed." He gave her an apologetic grin. "Thank you, by the way. I love it."

"S-s-s-sure," Marinette said, trying not to melt into a puddle of happy goo. Determined to make a better impression, she snapped herself out of it. "Right. Okay. On to important things! Which are… err, what did you want to talk about again?"

Adrien laughed and switched on the movie.

"We need to talk about my dad, and what you wanna do about him."

* * *

End Chapter 20.


	21. Chapter 21 - Tendencies

_(Bonus cookies for those who know which anime Adrien's talking about!)_

* * *

 **Chapter 21 - Tendencies**

Marinette opened her mouth to launch into The Plan, but then she closed it again, glancing at the food, drinks, and movie. If he'd done all this….

"Why don't you tell me what you wanna do first?" she offered, giving him her full attention.

"Well, because I don't think I have all the information," Adrien admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really do wanna hear what you have to say. You said you were working with Hawkmoth to bring back my mother, right? Something about a wish?"

Marinette nodded. "Ladybug's and Chat Noir's powers can be combined to make any one wish come true."

"Whoa, cool," Adrien breathed. Just imagining the possibilities made him feel giddy.

 _He really could have his mother back!_

 _Maybe his father wasn't so bad after all!_

But… years of working with Chloe made him hesitate. If something sounded too good to be true, it usually was.

"So, why haven't we used this power before?" he asked. "Err—you, I mean. You and Chat Noir."

Marinette sighed and looked away. "Because the universe must always be kept in balance. For everything we gain, something must be taken away."

"Equivalent exchange?" Adrien said eagerly, his eyes shining. "That's in one of my favorite animes! But, wait…." His eyes narrowed. "'Something of equal value must be given—even if we ignore the rules against human transmutation, m'lady, that's still… wait. You're gonna kill someone to bring my mother back?!" he cried, horrified.

"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head and waving her hands for emphasis. "Your dad explained everything. Your mom isn't really dead, Adrien! She let herself be put into stasis until your father could find a cure."

"A cure?"

"For her illness. He didn't say what it was, but it sounded bad if she was wasting away…."

Adrien blinked at her, surprised. "Marinette," he said slowly. "My mother was as healthy as a horse up until the day she disappeared."

They stared at each other for a few moments while Marinette felt her face pale. "I see."

"Also…," he paused, thinking for a moment. "She _let_ herself be put into stasis? That… that can't be right. She always said that I was the most important thing in her life. She never willingly abandon me! Wouldn't she at least _tell me_ if she knew she was going away?"

"Good point," Marinette said.

 _She'd been lied to! No wonder Marinette had been so willing to work with his father! He'd managed to spin it in such a light that made it look okay!_ Adrien nearly sighed with relief. His lady wasn't evil. She'd simply been duped! Now he was more thankful than ever that she'd agreed to meet and talk with him.

Especially when she narrowed her eyes and cracked her knuckles. "Looks like I'm gonna need to have another chat with Hawkmoth to find out what _really_ happened."

 _Nice knowing ya, father,_ he thought with a chuckle.

"Will you tell me what you find out?" he asked quietly. "My father's been pretty close-lipped about it to me too."

Marinette nodded and stood up, looking determined. A wave of panic rushed over Adrien.

 _Wait, now? She was going to go now?! He hadn't had time to think about this, to resign himself to the fact that his father was probably going to jail forever soon! At the least!_

"Wait!" he caught her hand before she could go. "Do you, umm, have to do it now?" he asked. Call him selfish, or stupid, but he kinda wanted to have a conversation with his father before that last, epic battle.

"I think I've waited long enough, don't you?" Marinette said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just… uhh… well, I can't eat all this by myself!" he said quickly, indicating the food and drinks still waiting on them. "And… with all the press that's sure to happen after we expose my father, I don't know when we'll be able to just have a quiet night to ourselves again!"

Marinette blinked at him, her eyes owlishly-wide. "Y-y-y-you mean, like-like a date?" she asked.

Adrien felt his own face flush. _A date? A DATE? A date with Marinette?!_

"Well, sure, I guess," he said slowly. "Unless you're not okay with that!" he added quickly.

"No, no! I mean—yes! I mean, I'm not—YES! A date! A date is fine!" Marinette exclaimed. Adrien laughed lightly at the fact that she was echoing his own thoughts. "Unless, _you're_ not okay with it…," she added timidly.

"ME?!" Adrien's voice did _not_ squeak, thank you very much. He would deny it 'til the day he died. But he cleared his throat, just in case. "I'm fine," he said calmly, turning back to the movie and tossing a cookie into his mouth.

"Yeah, you are…."

"What?" Adrien asked. He hadn't quite heard her mutter.

"Nothing!" she said quickly, sitting beside him on the couch again, this time much closer.

 _Still, not close enough,_ Adrien thought privately, now that he had time to think. _Not if they were on a date._ Marinette had said she loved him, after all, (though neither of them had said anything about it since then,) and Marinette was _Ladybug_ , which cleared up any hesitation _he_ might've had.

 _I should tell you,_ he thought as they both focused on the movie. He had so much he wanted to tell her. He was Chat Noir. He loved her too, so much….

But part of him was scared. Would she be mad at him for keeping his identity secret for so long? Would she not believe him if he told her how he felt? She'd already been emotionally manipulated by one member of his family, after all….

Beside him, she sighed happily. Adrien glanced at her to see her smiling at the screen and he quickly focused on what was happening in the movie.

 _Ah, he'd accidentally put on a romance, and one of the characters was quickly falling in love with the other._ He quickly scanned his memory. No steamy scenes (thank God), but there was a cute date scene coming up that she should like.

 _Hmm…_

 _Now, how did the guys in the movies do this again?_

 _Gotta get closer…_ reaching for another cookie was a good excuse to move.

 _Act innocent…_ let her relax, don't wanna scare her off—hey she didn't move away!

 _Then it was a kind of… stretch his arms up and…_

"You're so warm." Marinette rested her head against his shoulder, or at least she meant to. With Adrien's arms up, she ended up snuggling into his side.

Adrien froze.

Marinette froze.

Neither of them said anything, as Adrien's arms got heavier and heavier.

 _Okay, think!_ he screamed inside. _This is good! This is a good thing, right? This is exactly what you wanted! Just bring your arms down… slowly…._

Marinette tensed up again when his arm finally came down around her shoulders.

 _OH GOD, OH GOD, I'M GOING TO DIIIIEEE! SHE'S GOING TO THROW ME OFF THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER—_

"If you wanted to cuddle, Adrien, all you had to do was ask," Marinette murmured.

Adrien gulped, determined not to choke at such an important time in his life.

"Is this… okay, then?" he asked quietly.

"Mm hmm."

Joy blossomed through him as his body finally relaxed against her—taking in her heat, her softness, that familiar, wonderful scent….

A purr rumbled through his chest before he could stop it.

Beside him, Marinette tensed and pulled away from him, eyes wide.

"Whoa!" Adrien said quickly, laughing and grabbing his stomach to try to play it off. "I guess that snack didn't agree with me! I'll—be right back!"

He ran for his bathroom and slammed the door.

* * *

End Chapter 21.


	22. Chapter 22 - Fashion

**Chapter 22 - Fashion**

"Adrien, are you okay?" Marinette called through the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he called back. "But I'm not feeling very good. Maybe we could take a raincheck on the rest of the movie?"

"Oh, okay. S-sure," she said, shrugging even though he couldn't see it. "I'll just… go, then…."

"See you tomorrow at school!"

Marinette shook her head fondly. "We don't have school tomorrow, Adrien," she reminded him. No wonder this boy needed a schedule! "But, I'll come by anyway. I'd really like to see you transform some time!"

 _Even more so now,_ she added silently. Adrien was a good actor, but she'd heard that _particular_ rumble before.

"Right—uh, yeah… sure!"

"Good night!" she said. _–kitty_ , she added silently.

"Tikki," she called, heading for the door, "time to go!"

"Be right there!" Tikki said, trying to extract herself from the grip of a kwami that Marinette was now willing to bet wasn't named Duusu.

 _What had Adrien accidentally called him earlier? Plague?_ She snorted. _How appropriate for the kwami of destruction._

She smiled as Tikki swooped down to her, looking happier than she had been in over a week.

"Just one more stop before we go home," she promised the kwami. Tikki smiled, getting a steely glint in her eye.

"Hawkmoth?"

"Hawkmoth."

They left out the front door, waving to Nathalie and the Gorilla, but once they were around the corner, Marinette called on her transformation.

"'Lucy, I'm home,'" she called cheekily as she let herself in his window, imitating an old show she'd used to watch with her dad. "'And you've got some 'splainin' to do.'"

"Ah, Ladybug," Gabriel Agreste said, sounding as calm and collected as ever.

"Don't you 'Ah, Ladybug,' me," she growled, storming over to him. "That akuma was not what we agreed on! And _attacking_ me?!"

"I was under the impression that you were going to be an adult about this partnership," he said smoothly, his voice as cold as ice. "Thus far, you have not held up your end of the bargain. You have been unable to capture or even locate Chat Noir."

A chill went through her. If her hunch was right… if Chat was Adrien… living under the same roof as this man… knowing what he wanted… knowing what he was capable of….

No wonder Adrien had run away!

"I saw an opportunity," Gabriel continued, not even looking up from his screen. "And I took it. If we are going to continue to work together, Miss Bug, I would expect you to do the same."

Ladybug ground her teeth. _This man. Why was it that every time she was in the same room as him, she felt like a 5-year-old imbecile?_

"I have been working on my part," she snapped, " _within_ the boundaries of our agreement! But this akuma—do you even know how many people got hurt?"

"Nine injured, five automobile accidents, and one house fire," he recited, sounding like he was reading the police report. (He might've been, he still hadn't gotten off his damn computer.) Gabriel leveled a stare at her. "None of which were fully fixed by your Cure. Is there something I need to know?"

Ladybug looked away. "My kwami hasn't been cooperating lately. She doesn't like the fact that I'm working with you."

His face twisted into a smirk. "You can't even control your own kwami?"

Ladybug shot him a glare. "I'm working on it."

"Work faster," he advised. "I'd like to get my wish granted before summer vacation sets in."

"Yeah, about that," she drawled, strolling closer to see what he was working on. It was a summer dress, pale blue and _lovely_ … she wanted to fangirl over his skills for a moment, but she had to stay in control. She looked up to see him watching her. "Why did you lie to me?" she asked.

He didn't answer; only raised an eyebrow.

"Adrien told me his mother was never sick," she said. "That she'd never willingly leave him to be put into stasis like you said. So, last chance, Hawkmoth. What's the real story? And please note that I'll be taking it with a grain of salt this time."

He snorted in laughter. "You really think she would've told him?" he asked softly. "My son is fourteen years old, Ladybug. Neither of us wanted to place that burden on his shoulders. What would I even tell him? 'Your beloved mother is dying, Adrien. The doctors have tried everything, but there's nothing they can do.' No, we both agreed that it would easiest if she simply… disappeared for a time. No long, sad goodbyes. It's so much easier to get counseling for 'my mother abandoned me' than 'I watched her waste away for over a year, knowing it was only going to get worse.'"

"Adrien said she was healthy," Ladybug pointed out.

Gabriel nodded. "As I told you before, she used the Peacock Miraculous. Its magic gave her strength and a little more time than she ordinarily would've had, but...," he smiled sadly, "it's not immortality."

Ladybug frowned, still a bit distrustful. He must've sensed this, because he turned towards the portrait of his wife.

"I can show you, if you like," he offered. "She's here, beneath us even now, right beside what I'm sure you teenagers would call my Evil Lair™," he said, rolling his eyes.

Ladybug took a step back, a little uneasy about going to Hawkmoth's lair with him. Warning bells were going off in her head. Time for a strategic retreat.

"That won't be necessary right now," she assured him, backing away. "I'm sure I'll see her once we get the jewels together to work the spell."

"Of course," Gabriel agreed. He glanced at his computer. "By the way, Ladybug, what's your size?" he asked. "This dress I'm making would look fabulous on you."

Ladybug's eyes got round as she also looked at the cute, simple, but otherwise-gorgeous dress. "For m-me?" she squeaked. "Oh, no… I couldn't possibly…."

"Once all of this is over and we no longer need to be Ladybug and Hawkmoth anymore, there's no reason why we couldn't be friends," he pointed out. "Especially if you're thinking of dating my son. I can't let Adrien be seen with just anyone, after all."

Blushing furiously, Ladybug muttered her size and flew out the window.

Gabriel smiled after her. "Yes, with your hair, eyes, and body structure, this dress will look fabulous," he murmured. "I'll make certain the mortician gets it."

* * *

End Chapter 22.

 _(Oh, come on, guys. You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you? *cackles evilly*)_


	23. Chapter 23 - Secrets

**Chapter 23 - Secrets**

"Adrien, your father would like a word with you in his study," Nathalie said the next morning.

Adrien groaned as he rolled in his bed to face her. "Nathalie, you have no idea how terrifying that phrase is. Last time you said it… they wanted me to… ugh…." He covered his face with a pillow.

"You'll be fine," she assured him, taking the pillow away from him and tossing it to the far side of his bed. "You have a photoshoot later today. And we both know your father would not allow you to miss anything like that. If I start informing you that everything's been cancelled, well, _then_ you can worry."

"Good to know," he said, sitting up so he could look at her better.

 _Was Nathalie actually one of the few people still on his side? Was she serious about warning him if his father was planning anything? Could he trust her?_

"Nathalie…," he began as she turned away.

"It's better not to trust anyone," she said sharply, as if she could read his thoughts. Adrien clamped his mouth shut. "People will always work with their own best interests and goals in mind, Adrien. The best you can hope for is for some of those goals to match up with your own."

"Sounds lonely," he said softly.

"It's called surviving," she retorted.

"And your deal with my father is…?"

"Besides a steady paycheck and building a reputation in the fashion world?" she asked with a wry smile. "He has agreed not to akumatize me and to hand the company over to me should anything happen to him."

"What about me?" Adrien asked.

"You'll inherit when you come of age," Nathalie said, shrugging. "I imagine, at this point, I care more about what happens to the label than you do."

Adrien chuckled. Truer words had never been spoken. This might actually work.

"Until then, your father doesn't like to be kept waiting. Hurry and get dressed."

"Yes, ma'am."

For now, he had a part to play.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, father?" Adrien said meekly, peeking his head into the office. He breathed a sign of relief when he saw that Ladybug wasn't there this time.

She knew. She had to know. That look on her face when she'd pulled away from him—as if all the pieces had fallen together—he'd half-expected her to call him out then and there. If she wasn't here, though, it meant that there was still a chance she hadn't told Hawkmoth who he was.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. The game was still on.

"Come in and shut the door, Adrien," his father said sharply. Adrien obeyed, catching Nathalie's sympathetic glance before she was out of sight.

"Is anything wrong, father?" he asked, feigning innocence as he faced the man again, hands folded behind his back (not only to hide the ring, but to stop himself from fidgeting out of nervousness).

"You tell me, Adrien," Gabriel said, turning his whole attention to his son. (Given his usual attitude whenever Adrien visited, this was rather alarming.) "You're the one having secret rendezvous with Ladybug."

 _Ah, so she'd already been here…._

 _Yikes._

"Wh-what did she tell you?" Adrien gulped.

"That you've been accusing me of being a liar behind my back," Gabriel snapped. Adrien flinched and stepped back. "How dare you. My own son. My flesh and blood!"

"But what you told her wasn't true!" Adrien protested, summoning a bit of bravery. "Mom wasn't sick! She would've told me!"

"SHE _WAS_ SICK! EVERY DAMN DAY SINCE WE BROUGHT YOU HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL, SHE WAS SICK! SHE—" Gabriel visibly stopped himself from lunging at his son. He drew in a deep breath and composed himself.

"Adrien, there were things we didn't tell you," he said calmly. "Things we _couldn't_ tell you, because you were young. And you are still young. But I need you at my side now, Adrien. I need your help. To bring her back. So we can be a family again!"

Once upon a time, those words would've broken Adrien. He would've sobbed and embraced his father, promising him anything and everything he could to help him.

But now, with Nathalie's warning ringing in his head, he hesitated. When Gabriel pulled him into a hug, he embraced the man back, but he didn't relax.

"What do you want me to do?" Adrien asked quietly, once they'd pulled apart.

"Use the Miraculous I gave you, son," Gabriel urged, gesturing to the pin on the inside of his jacket. Adrien stepped away subtly. "Ladybug is already showing signs that she's changed her mind. She's likely to turn on us any day. I need you to get Chat Noir's Miraculous from him—

"You don't have to hurt him," he added quickly, seeing Adrien's wide eyes. "I know Ladybug told me you were a fan of his. With your powers, he'll never even see it coming. Just take his ring and slip off into the night. He won't be able to stop you."

"An-and Ladybug?" Adrien asked, licking his lips.

"I'll take care of her," Gabriel assured him with a glint in his eye. "Don't worry, I won't harm her either—unless she decides to completely betray us and attack me—all I want from her is her earrings. It's all I've ever wanted, son. And we are _so close_ …."

Adrien nodded, biting his lip and drawing away from his father a bit more.

"And if Chat decides to fight me?" he asked. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he wanted—he _needed_ to hear it.

"Take him out," Gabriel said firmly. "You also have a Miraculous, and you've had martial arts training. You are my son. I have no doubt that you would prevail."

 _The fact that those words would've made him proud once…_ he felt sick.

"Thank you for your faith in me, father," Adrien said tonelessly. "Am I excused, or do you need me to do it now?"

"No, we still have time," Gabriel said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Chat Noir is usually seen around sunset. You have a photoshoot this afternoon, I believe, and you really should practice your piano beforehand."

"Yes, sir."

With that, Adrien left, not saying anything until he got back to his room. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and slid to the ground against his wall of windows.

"You okay, kid?" Plagg asked, hovering nearby.

"He's lying," Adrien moaned. "He has to be! Mom wouldn't leave me willingly! She was the only thing that made being homeschooled bearable! He didn't mention the fights they had. The shouting and screaming. They tried to hide _that_ from me too, but I still knew about it! Don't you think I would've noticed my mother…." He choked on a sob.

"I don't know, Plagg. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Well, you could change it up and try to steal _his_ Miraculous for once," Plagg said flippantly, playing with his cheese.

Adrien laughed. "He'd murder me. I honestly think he'd straight-up murder me…."

"Well, what other options do you have?"

Adrien thought about it for a moment and then looked at Plagg.

"About that wish…."

Plagg burst out laughing. "You really wanna face Ladybug again? To try to take her earrings?"

"No, no, I just… I feel like I'm still in the dark here. Like it's a big secret that everybody knows but me. What can you tell me about it?"

Plagg grinned at him evilly. " _Everything_. For a price, of course."

Adrien snorted and smirked back. "I guess it's a good thing I just ordered a double load of camembert, huh?"

"Now you're speakin' my language!"

* * *

End Chapter 23.


	24. Chapter 24 - Piano

**Chapter 24 - Piano**

Alone in her room, Marinette's thoughts spun like a top.

 _Or a yoyo,_ she thought ruefully as she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. _Could she really be right? Could Adrien be Chat Noir?_ It would explain so much… but it left her with even more questions.

Tikki wasn't talking to her again. Apparently, she'd been hoping Marinette would break all ties with Hawkmoth. Instead, Ladybug had left without even throwing a punch.

So now she had no one to talk this through with.

And Marinette's heart was even more confused.

 _Hawkmoth made sense! His explanation made sense!_ If Maman had been sick, she was pretty sure Papa would try to hide it from her too, just to spare her the grief! Why couldn't they see the logic? Was everyone else was just working off feelings and emotions?!

Frustrated, she dialed her last resort.

"Alya," she greeted, once the other girl had picked up.

" _We don't have school and you're awake before noon, Marinette!"_ her friend laughed. _"Is anything wrong?"_

"Ha ha. I have… a hypothetical question for you," Marinette said, biting her lip.

" _Would this hypothetical question involve a hypothetical boy?"_

"Yes. Again, very hypothetically."

" _Ok, shoot your hypothetical question at me."_

"What should you do if—hypothetically—you want to help someone, but they don't want you to?" Marinette asked.

 _"Uh, you don't."_

"Huh?"

" _Look,"_ Alya sighed _. "I know you like to save everyone you can, M. But, you asked Ad—your hypothetical boy if he wants your help, right? And he said no?"_

"But what if he doesn't have all his facts straight?"

" _You tell him,"_ Alya said simply. _"Get his facts straight, then ask him again."_

Marinette chewed on her lip again. _Tell Adrien that his mother_ _ **had**_ _been sick? That Hawkmoth was telling the truth?_ She didn't think he'd believe her.

"I can't do that," she whispered.

" _Then you've got no business helping him,"_ Alya said, sounding slightly impatient. _"Your hypothetical boy has his own hypothetical life. You've gotta let him live it."_

"But I wanna help…," Marinette whined.

" _I know, M,"_ Alya sighed. _"You'd save the world if you could."_

* * *

A steady stream of piano chords greeted Marinette as she knocked on Adrien's door. She didn't think much of it; she'd seen Adrien's trick with his phone before when he'd invited her to play foosball instead of practicing like he should be.

"Come in," he called.

Well, at least he was actually still inside. Nathalie had warned her that he'd also used the phone trick to sneak out in the past. Marinette took a deep breath before going inside.

However, despite all of his past deeds, there was Adrien, sitting obediently at the piano and practicing.

"Hey," she called softly.

"Hey," he answered, not looking up.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

He missed a note, but kept going. "I really need to practice," Adrien admitted. "But you can talk, and I'll listen," he offered, still not looking at her.

 _Okay, so maybe she deserved that. And… maybe it would make this easier. God knew, she tended to lose her mind whenever he focused those gorgeous green eyes on her._

"I've been doing some thinking," Marinette said slowly. Adrien shot her an amused glance and she could almost hear Chat's snarky reply, "Don't hurt yourself!" But Adrien himself said nothing, too well-trained as a gentleman. And even Chat would've immediately apologized and said, "just kidding, just kidding, my lady!"

 _Fine. Play hard to get._

"I've never seen you transform," she continued, "and you refuse to let me meet your kwami."

"I told you, he's shy."

"His name's not really Duusu, though, is it?"

Another wrong note. "What else would it be?" he asked innocently.

"Plague."

Adrien laughed. "What an awful name!" he said lightly.

A book flew through the air, obviously aimed at his head. Adrien ducked to dodge it, snickering.

"You're messing up my practicing, Feather-Head!" he called to where the book came from.

"You'll be lucky if I don't shave you bald while you sleep, kid," came the growling reply.

Adrien leaned against the piano, cackling. "Welp, there goes my modelling career!" He shot Marinette an amused look. "See, he doesn't like that name either, princess. You'll have to pick another."

She frowned at him and then turned to look where the book and voice had come from.

"If you're really Duusu, can you come out so I can see you?" she called.

"I don't like people," the kwami called back.

Marinette huffed in frustration. "Fine, then," she said, turning back to Adrien. "Transform. I want to see it."

"I'm kinda busy right now," Adrien reminded her, starting his piece again.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself to remain calm.

"When you first came to me, you told me to warn Ladybug about your father," she said softly. "Not Ladybug and Chat Noir. You didn't even mention Chat. Even though you knew I'd worked with him before, during Evillustrator."

"Oversight," Adrien said simply. "Everyone knows Ladybug's the brains of the team anyway."

 _Flattery will get you nowhere, kitty._

"You won't transform. You won't let me see your kwami," she said, listing off her evidence. Adrien ignored her and continued playing. "You and Chat always seem to know the same things. You started _purring_ last night—"

"Stomach problems. You can't prove anything."

"—and you called me 'princess' just now!"

"Oops," Adrien paused, wincing. "Do you not like that nickname?" he tried. "Should I stick with 'Mari?'"

"You should stick with the truth!" she snapped. "I'm pretty sure you've called me 'my lady' too, I just chose to ignore it!"

"So, keep ignoring it."

"CHAT!"

His piano piece ended with a loud chord that was definitely _not_ on his sheet music.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked quietly. "I can show you pictures of when I transformed into Le Peon. Will that help?"

"I'm trying to _help_ you," Marinette whimpered. "But you've been blocking me at every turn! WHY?"

"Because this is wrong!" Adrien exclaimed. "Giving into the bad guy, letting him win—"

"He's your _father_ , Adrien!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?" he yelled.

A loud knocking interrupted them.

* * *

End Chapter 24.


	25. Chapter 25 - Sneaking Out

**Chapter 25 - Sneaking Out**

"Adrien," Nathalie said, stepping inside and leveling a glare at them both. "You're supposed to be practicing."

"Sorry," Adrien said, sitting back down and starting again.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"I'll be quiet. Sorry," Marinette said softly.

"Any more outbursts and I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Yes, ma'am."

She waited until the older woman left before stepping closer to Adrien, who was once again ignoring her in favor of his piano keys. From here, she could see it clearly; the innocuous silver ring that was the cause of all this.

"Sabrina hasn't worn the pin Chloe bought her in a while," she said carefully.

"It didn't take much," Adrien muttered. "Just a few tears, a sob-story about how my mom used to have one just like it, a promise to buy her something better—if she hadn't already been giving it to me, Chloe might've ripped it off her sweater."

"Does your father know?"

"He probably suspects as much as you do," Adrien admitted. "And if he touches it and senses no magic, well… it's game over."

"He doesn't want to hurt you, Adrien," Marinette said. "He really just wants his family back. Did it ever occur to you that you might be wrong about him?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Adrien said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Marinette's temper flared. She was trying to be reasonable and _nice_ here!

"Why are you being so difficult?!" she exclaimed, remembering at the last moment to keep her voice down. "I'm trying to bring your mother back _for you!_ Then we can—"

"Yeah, great idea, Marinette!" Adrien snapped. "My mom, the super-zombie! For someone who doesn't like horror movies, princess, you're sure determined to star in one!"

"It won't be like that!"

"Says who? My father, _the_ _super-villain_?!"

Marinette wanted to scream in frustration, but she was all too aware of the fact that Nathalie would happily kick her out if she did. Instead, she balled her fists and stomped on the ground.

"Well, who am I supposed to believe then?!" she hissed.

"ME!" Adrien exclaimed, finally standing up from his piano and turning towards her.

Marinette's eyes filled with tears. _He could deny it all he wanted to, but it wasn't her friend standing in front of her. It was her partner._ Chat Noir bled through everything Adrien did. She knew that look. That walk as he drew nearer. She drew in a shaky breath as he grasped her elbows and pulled her closer.

"Please, m'lady," he whispered, dipping his head close to her. "Just think about _me_ for a moment. Try to see it from my perspective…."

"I never _stopped_ thinking about you," she murmured back, shame welling up inside her as her tears finally spilled over. "We have to stop him somehow, Chat, but I don't wanna hurt you…."

"I don't think I can avoid _that_ no matter what happens," he muttered, finally pulling her into a hug.

Marinette sank into his warmth, allowing herself to cry on his shoulder for a moment. Crying for her, and him. For the mistakes she'd made. For the shitty hand he'd been dealt in all this. For the fact that, no matter what they did, _somehow_ they were going to lose….

She took a deep, steadying breath, trying to get her thoughts together again.

"Adrien?" she finally croaked, pulling away from him a bit so she could look him in the eyes. "Are you absolutely certain your father's lying about your mother?"

Adrien stared at her for a few moments. "I don't have any solid evidence, no. Just my gut feeling."

"And can you tell me—in all honesty—that you don't want your mother back?"

He sighed. "Of course I do."

She nodded, clearing her throat. "The thing about miracles is, you have to believe in them, Adrien," she said, raising her chin a bit. "Will you help _me_ , then? We can bypass Hawkmoth. If you give me your ring, we can bring your mother back together." She held out her hand for it.

Adrien looked at it, glanced at her, and stepped back.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"Do you have a better idea?" she asked.

"I don't," he admitted.

"We don't know what'll happen once we defeat Hawkmoth."

"Guess I'll just have to believe in whatever Fate hands me."

Marinette closed her eyes and sighed. "God, why did I fall in love with someone so _stubborn_?!"

Adrien smiled. "Right back at ya."

She opened her eyes, new determination shining in them. "I can't leave your fate up in the air like that, Adrien," she said. "I _can't!_ Not when I have a way to make things better. It's part of who I am! You understand, right?"

"Funnily enough, I do," Adrien said, laughing a bit. "So that's it, then? Epic battle for the ultimate power? I think I've got some fight music in my playlist. Want me to put it on?"

"Nothing quite so melodramatic," she said, rolling her eyes. _Typical-Chat behavior, making jokes at a time like this._

"NATHALIE!" she yelled. "ACTIVATE THE SECURITY SYSTEM! ADRIEN'S SNEAKING OUT AGAIN!"

"Why you—!" Adrien exclaimed, as his bedroom window shields came down around them. "—sneaky little—" He sighed as he heard the rest of the Manor go into lockdown mode as well. He gave her a half-hearted glare. "Et tu, Mari?"

"All's fair in love and war," Marinette replied cheekily, giving him a playful grin. "It's not my fault you forgot to take your surroundings into account. No more sneaking out for yo-ou! Now, I'll ask again nicely. Ring, please? So we can end all of this without anyone getting hurt?"

"Ring? You haven't even taken me on a _date_!" he sprang at her. She gasped and stepped back. Then he quickly wheeled away and sprinted into his bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him.

"Really? REALLY?!" she yelled through the door.

"It's the model in me!" he called back cheekily.

"You think this'll stop me?"

 _No, but it'll slow you down,_ Adrien thought as Plagg phased through the door, looking at him curiously.

"Cataclysm?" the kwami asked, indicating the sealed window and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Adrien scoffed. "Then I'd have five minutes to get away before I'm completely at their mercy. Ladybug would be after me, and I'm sure my father would send another akuma to help her. We wouldn't stand a chance, Plagg!"

"Good to know you've thought this through!" Marinette called through the door. He smirked and went to his shower, turning on the water to cover his voice.

"You remember that story you told me, Plagg? The one about your other bearer?" he said lowly, so only the kwami could hear.

"Yeah…."

"I want you to do it to me," Adrien said. "Curse me, so the ring doesn't come off."

Plagg blinked at him in shock. "Are you sure, kid?"

"Adrien? What are you doing in there?!" Marinette called.

"I won't be able to turn off the bad luck that comes with it," Plagg warned him.

"I'll deal with it," Adrien hissed. "Just do it!"

Plagg stared at him for another moment, before shrugging and diving into the ring. Adrien gasped and cried out as black lightning shot through his veins.

"Adrien? ADRIEN? What are you doing?! _Tikki, spots on!_ " Marinette yelled. She burst through the door a moment later, to see Adrien grinning up at her from where he crouched on the floor.

"Checkmate, princess."

* * *

End Chapter 25.


	26. Chapter 26 - Picnic in Paris

**Chapter 26 - Picnic in Paris**

Ladybug strode over and helped Adrien to his feet.

"What did you _do_?" she hissed as Plagg tumbled out of the ring again.

"I made it so nobody could take off the ring," Adrien grinned proudly. "Not you, not Hawkmoth, not even me!"

Ladybug's jaw dropped. "You're joking," she said, reaching for his ring. This time, Adrien didn't fight her. Sure enough, instead of slipping off, the ring stayed firmly in place. It wouldn't budge, no matter how hard the superheroine pulled on it.

"Ow, Ladybug!" Adrien exclaimed. "Ow, _ow_ , like seriously, ow!"

"You're not joking," she muttered, giving up. She settled for glaring at him. "All right, fine. How do I get the ring?"

"Well, we _could_ start with a date…."

"Enough with the marriage jokes! Your father's not gonna wait that long!"

"My father has a long-standing habit of being disappointed in me," Adrien said solemnly. "I'd hate to let him down on that."

Ladybug was about to growl at him when Nathalie burst in the door.

"What happened?!" she demanded. She did a double-take at the superheroine. "Ladybug?! What are you doing here? And where's Marinette?!"

Adrien gave Ladybug a shit-eating grin. "Yeah… where'd she go? I can't _spot_ her anywhere…."

"You're not funny," Ladybug muttered.

Nathalie looked at them, going from one to another until it clicked. "I see," she said calmly.

"You just outed me to a civilian!" Ladybug yelled at her partner.

"Right, like you aren't two minutes away from taking me to the Big Bad," Adrien retorted.

"Enough, children!" Nathalie snapped. "Adrien, your father wants to see you in his study, to make sure you aren't actually sneaking out."

"No thanks, I choose life."

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen!" Ladybug said, grabbing his arm and marching him out of the room.

"Says the girl who got upset when I wouldn't give her a ring. Even though she refuses to even go on a date with me!" Adrien gave a long, drawn-out sigh, pretending to pout.

"I didn't go on that date with you because then I'd be missing a date with… you!" Ladybug paused as she processed that and looked back at Adrien.

"I know," he said, nodding. "Think of how I feel about that night! I blew off a date with you… to have a date with you."

"Ugh, can our lives get any more complicated?!" Ladybug moaned.

"Hey, at least it's not like you're a superhero about to offer me up to a supervillain to fulfill his dastardly plans to take over the world," Adrien quipped. Then he looked down at where she was still gripping his wrist. "Oh, wait…."

"He is NOT going to hurt you!" Ladybug said, exasperated.

"Yes, because my life thus far has been a lovely picnic in Paris, and he's a snuggly bundle of positive emotions."

"Adrien?" his father's voice called from the study. To their surprise, he didn't wait for them to come to him, and instead stepped out into the hall to meet them. His eyes fell on Ladybug in surprise. "Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

Adrien covered his mouth in mock-surprise. "Ohhhh, plot-twist!"

"Hardly," Gabriel said dismissively, rolling his eyes. "As if I'd hire just anyone to stay with my son. Even at the behest of a superhero. I've known from the start. Now come in here, both of you. I assume you have a good reason for activating the security system."

He walked back into his office, leaving Ladybug gaping behind him.

"Does _everybody_ know my secret identity?" she exclaimed.

"I guess you aren't hard to _spot_ ," Adrien laughed.

She turned back to him, still worked up, but decided not to say anything as she detransformed and marched him into the study. Adrien saw Tikki shoot him a worried look before disappearing.

"Adrien has something to tell you," Marinette declared.

On one hand, Adrien supposed he should be happy that she hadn't just simply outed him. On the other, _thanks, princess, for making me do it myself!_

"I do," he agreed, nodding. "I confess, father. I hate Adrien, the fragrance." He heard Marinette facepalm beside him. "It smells like the wrong end of a skunk bathed in body spray and then rolled in some dryer sheets."

"No, Adrien, I mean the superhero business," Marinette growled.

"Did you find Chat Noir?" his father asked.

The girl winced. "Well… umm…."

"Why are you wasting my time?" Gabriel snapped. "If you are incapable of finding your old partner, Miss Dupain-Cheng, you should simply say so, so I can find someone less incompetent."

Adrien glanced at Marinette out of the corner of his eye. Bad guy or not, nobody liked hearing that kind of thing. Sure enough, her hands were balled into fists. So, his father's callousness and taunting _were_ getting to her. And despite everything, she was still his partner, and his friend, and his old instincts of defending her sprang to life.

"You could both be out there looking, and—"

"I have no intention of looking for Chat Noir, father," Adrien cut in. "Chasing your own tail is really more of a dog thing."

His father froze, mid-tirade, looking at him and Ladybug as if this was some sort of joke.

"You aren't Chat Noir, Adrien. I've seen both of you in the same place at the same time," he said, regaining his composure. "If you two think you can trick me—"

"You know," Adrien drawled at his father, "for all your _creative genius_ and emphasis on my supposed safety, I'm surprised you never even considered the possibility of a body double."

His father blinked at him in disbelief. Whether it was his words or his tone, Adrien wasn't sure. And he honestly didn't care at this point. _The world had already gone crazy. Why not enjoy the ride? There was a lot he wanted to say to this man before he died._

"B-b-body double?" his father repeated.

"His name is Wayham," Adrien nodded, shrugging. "Crazed fan. Loves cosplaying as me anyway, so I figured I'd use it. He's even thinking of dyeing his hair, so we don't have to keep relying on the helmet."

His father's eyes narrowed. "It's still impossible. You can't hold two Miraculouses at once; the powers aren't compatible!"

Adrien nodded and took off the flower pin. He held it up for his father to see, then took it in both hands and easily snapped it in half. He threw the pieces on the ground.

"You made it easy when you made a whole line of Miraculous imitations," he said.

Gabriel face mottled in fury. "Where's the real one?" he snarled.

"I dunno," Adrien shrugged. "I gave it to some old guy in a Hawaiian shirt."

Marinette gasped before she could stop herself, quickly covering her mouth.

Gabriel's eyes flew to her. "The Guardian, I presume?" he asked, his voice still tight. She nodded. "Do you know where to find him?!"

"Yes, but—"

"Don't bother," Adrien cut in. "I gave him the Peacock Miraculous the same day you gave it to me, along with the rest of my savings so he could go into hiding. He's long gone."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Gabriel yelled. "THAT WAS YOUR MOTHER'S!"

"AND IF SHE'S HALF THE PERSON I REMEMBER, SHE'D WANT ME TO USE IT TO SAVE THE WORLD!" Adrien screamed back, his eyes filling with tears. His father lunged at him, but then Marinette was there, standing in front of him.

"You will not _touch_ him," she hissed, her voice dangerously soft. "I've put up with a lot from you, Hawkmoth. But I will _not_ let you harm Adrien."

* * *

End Chapter 26.


	27. Chapter 27 - First Kiss

**Chapter 27 - First Kiss**

"Fine," Gabriel said, visibly holding himself back from attacking the two teenagers in front of him. "Take his ring and leave him here. We've got—"

"I can't," Marinette said.

" _What do you mean, you can't?_ " The man was clearly losing his patience. Fast.

"I had my kwami work a spell," Adrien explained, stepping forward so he was standing beside Marinette (where he belonged!) and wiping the useless tears from his eyes. "Now nobody can take it off. Not even me."

"Absurd, there's no such spell!" Gabriel said dismissively. "Nooroo," he called. The butterfly kwami floated up. "Is such a spell even possible?"

"Well, um… yes, master," Nooroo said nervously. "I've heard of it being done before."

"Damn," Gabriel cursed. "What's the cure?" he demanded.

Nooroo looked at Adrien nervously, and hesitated before answering. "True love's kiss, master."

Gabriel snorted. "Of course it is," he said, rolling his eyes. "Well, Miss Dupain-Cheng, here's your opportunity to actually be useful for once." He gestured to them both, clearly wanting them to get it over with.

Marinette glanced at Adrien, who was already watching her.

"Adrien…," she said softly.

"Not like this, my lady," he whispered. "Please _._ _Not like this_."

Marinette stepped back, looking away.

"Do you want to help him or not, Miss Dupain-Cheng?" Gabriel called. "I assure you, with my assets, once I'm gone, Adrien will have a line of 'long-lost relatives' who'll be happy to take him and his money far away. You'll never see him again!"

Marinette's breath caught and she looked up at Adrien desperately. _Please, don't hate me,_ she begged with her eyes. _I just can't stand the thought of losing you!_

Adrien didn't pull away when she reached for him again, but he closed his eyes, refusing to look at her as she closed the distance between them. Trembling, she placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth and quickly pulled away.

 _Sorry, I'm sorry,_ she thought frantically as she took his hand. _I'll make it up to you, I swear. I'll do anything…._

The ring wouldn't budge.

Shocked, she pulled a bit harder. Still nothing.

 _But it had worked before!_ she thought with a panicked gasp. _With Dark Cupid! She'd broken the spell then! And he'd even admitted he loved her since then! And she loved_ _ **him**_ _, she knew_ _ **that**_ _with every fiber of her being!_

"Try again," Gabriel called irritably, obviously sensing something was wrong.

She looked up at Adrien desperately. His green eyes bore into her, like he could see into her very soul.

"Princess," he said softly, calmly. "Do you really think my true love would be someone who won't even listen to me?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and all the air rushed out of her lungs. Marinette gave a short gasp, and then ran out of the room, already blinded by tears.

She heard Gabriel calling after her, but not Adrien. _And why would he? She wasn't his true love. She wasn't even sure he'd call her his friend after all this._

She pounded on the still-sealed door.

"Open it, Nathalie!" she begged, knowing the other woman could hear her. "PLEASE!"

The door opened. Marinette tore out of the house as fast as she could.

* * *

Back in his study, Gabriel and Adrien Agreste watched her retreat; neither of them moving a muscle.

"How disappointing," Gabriel said, unperturbed. "She didn't even bother to leave her earrings. I'll have to send an akuma after her to get them later. From the measures you've taken, I assume you want to be the one to make the wish?"

Adrien glared at the floor. "No thanks," he grit out, his fingernails digging into his palms.

"Oh, come now, Adrien—"

"I can't wear them anyway," Adrien said with a short laugh. "It's not like you'd ever allow me to pierce my ears. 'It's too rebellious,' remember?"

"Yes, your rebellion these past few days does need to be quelled," his father said quietly.

Adrien looked up to ask him what he meant by that—

 _CRACK!_

Adrien stumbled back, eyes wide, and his hand already on his cheek. From the stinging heat, he was sure he had a red imprint of his father's hand. His eyes filled with tears. His father hadn't done that in years!

"You will _never_ disrespect me like that in front of anyone ever again," Gabriel said. Adrien looked away, his throat closing up around the words he desperately wanted to say, but couldn't.

"Nathalie!" his father called. His assistant appeared in the doorway. Gabriel gestured to Adrien. "Kiss him."

"Sir?" Nathalie looked bewildered.

"You are the person he has spent the most time with these past few years. Surely there is a bond there."

"I don't think it works like that," Adrien muttered.

Nathalie looked just as doubtful as she placed a quick, awkward kiss on his forehead. Adrien smiled at her before she retreated. That was probably the most amount of affection she'd _ever_ shown him. His father was out of his mind.

Sure enough, the ring didn't budge.

Gabriel wasn't deterred, calling in the Gorilla next, who looked just as disgusted as Adrien at the thought that he could be the boy's true love. Adrien started laughing when his bodyguard kissed the top of his head and left, shaking his head, before Gabriel could even check to see if the ring would come off.

It didn't.

"You might wanna wait until this fades before you call in Chloe," Adrien suggested, gesturing to his cheek. "She'll happily call the police on you. You know the mayor has yet to punish her for anything."

"You'll be quiet or I'll give you another to match," his father growled.

"Have _you_ tried, sir?" Nathalie suggested. "It's said that the bond between parent and child…" She trailed off as both Agrestes fixed her with disbelieving stares. She cleared her throat. "Should I cancel the afternoon photoshoot?"

"It will have faded by then," Gabriel said dismissively. "I didn't hit him _that_ hard."

"Am I excused, then?" Adrien asked sullenly.

"Go to your room and _stay_ there," his father said. "Should you attempt to run away again, I will unleash an akuma that will tear apart all of Paris to find you."

"Yes, sir."

Adrien fled to his room, tripping on the stairs twice, and running into the doorframe. Then, once he was there, he had to dodge as the poster above his door nearly fell on his head.

"I take it this is the bad luck you were talking about," he said quietly, sitting on his bed as Plagg swooped up to eye level.

The kwami nodded. "Being with Ladybug will help, so it shouldn't be too bad for you as Chat Noir."

"Unless my father cuts the ring off my finger first."

"I don't get it," Plagg said. "You _know_ who he is. He knows who you are. Why don't you just suit up and take him out?"

"He's my father, Plagg," Adrien said miserably.

The kwami sighed. "I just don't get it."

"He's my father," Adrien repeated, curling up and burying his head in his hands. "He's my father and he didn't even bother to try."

* * *

End Chapter 27.


	28. Chapter 28 - Disguises

**Chapter 28 - Disguises**

Marinette found herself, once again, in the park. _I seem to be here a lot lately,_ she mused as she stared at the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir while tears silently streamed down her face. _Alone_.

She lost him. She'd well-and-truly lost him. Adrien didn't love her anymore. She'd taken it one step too far somewhere along the line, and he'd completely slipped out of her grasp.

 _What to do now?_ she thought miserably, walking around the fountain. The fountain where she'd once come to watch a photoshoot of his. The fountain where they'd hid from his crazed fans, in that one pale imitation of a date.

She looked at the fountain and smiled sadly. They'd never actually had a real date. Now, they probably never would. No wonder Adrien had been so upset with her!

Her heart throbbed, its ache fast becoming a regular feeling.

 _Can I even make this right anymore?_

"'Love is patient, love is kind,'" a familiar voice recited. Marinette whirled around to see a figure sitting at the fountain, reading a book. She'd ignored him before, not recognizing him with his oversized hat and plain, green overcoat instead of his usual loud Hawaiian shirt, but there was no doubt. It was Master Fu smiling at her from under that hat!

"I don't really agree with some people's interpretation of all of this," he said, indicating his book. "We as people can feel envy or pride, and still be capable of love. We may get angry or hold grudges. It does not make our love any less. The point is, we cannot let those negative emotions become _who_ we are. And the one thing I do agree with, is that love 'always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and _always perseveres_.'"

"Master Fu!" Marinette cried joyfully, rushing up to the old master. "Adrien said you were gone!"

"I imagine Adrien has said a lot lately," Master Fu replied, closing his book. "But have you been listening?"

"Of course!" Marinette exclaimed. But she immediately faltered. "Or, at least I thought I had."

"Your own thoughts turned out to be a bit louder than your friend's voice?"

"Exactly!" Marinette said. "But I'm—I'm doing it all for him! Why can't he see that?"

"If you are doing something he has asked you not to… then, no matter what justification you give, Marinette, you are doing it for yourself. Not for him."

"But I—"

"Wanting to help your friend is no bad thing," Master Fu acknowledged. "But taking over his life because you think _you_ know better… is selfishness, disguised as love. It is done to make _yours_ _elf_ feel better about the situation, not him. And it will cause nothing but bad feelings between you and him."

"What can I do, then?" Marinette asked miserably. "He's already admitted he doesn't have a plan for after we defeat Hawkmoth."

"Oh, ho!" Master Fu laughed, "so you're planning on abandoning your friend as soon as your enemy is defeated, are you?"

"What? No, of course not! I would never!"

"'Love trusts,'" Master Fu reminded her. "And if he is still willing to fight, even if he has no plan, Adrien must love you a great deal, to trust in having nothing more than your love after all of this is done."

Marinette paled, and then blushed, looking in the direction she'd come from.

 _And I ran out on him,_ she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat. _The first doubt I had, I ran._

"Does love forgive?" she rasped.

"I imagine you have to mean it," the old master chuckled. "But why are you asking me?"

Marinette was already moving.

"Tikki," she called as she ran for the manor. "I've been an idiot, and stubborn… and Hawkmoth needs to go down!"

"And I knew you'd see it in the end!" Tikki sang. "Give me one minute alone with the cookies in your bag!" She dove into the purse and Marinette laughed, running faster and feeling lighter than she had in days.

She could only hope Adrien would be so forgiving.

* * *

Adrien lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. _I seem to end up here a lot,_ he mused. _Alone. In my room. And now I can't even look at my posters._

He'd had to take said posters down, once it became apparent that anything and everything suddenly wanted to fall on him. He'd gone to watch a movie, and no fewer than five shelves of DVDs had simply collapsed. His video games were broken. He didn't dare touch his computer, or the rock wall, and he didn't need Plagg's snide comments to know that his zipline was out of the question as well.

Bad luck sucked.

 _Now all he needed was an akuma to come bursting through his door—_

His door was blasted open, hard enough to break it off the hinges and send it flying into his room. Adrien yelped and rolled off his bed.

"ADRIEN! THE REST OF YOUR AFTERNOON APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED!" a familiar voice boomed.

Adrien swore and hid behind his bed. He did _not_ want to know what had gone down if it was bad enough to get Nathalie akumatized.

 _Ok, think, Adrien,_ he told himself. _It's Nathalie! Maybe you can reason with her!_

"Nathalie?" he called hesitantly.

"I AM… THE ASSISTANT!"

All around him, his bed was suddenly shredded into dozens of pieces. He watched in horror as sheets of paper embedded themselves into the floor and walls.

 _HOLY FECKING PAPER CUTS! He knew she hated physical paperwork, but this was taking it to a new level!_

Adrien dove out of the way, looking up to see the akuma. Yup, definitely Nathalie.

"If this is about the bonus my father refused to give you last Christmas, you can take it out of my savings!" he called.

The akuma snarled at him and launched more deadly sheets of paper in his direction.

"I don't know what he did to make you so mad," Adrien shouted, barely dodging the projectiles, "but think, Nathalie! I need you to _think_! He promised to never akumatize you, remember? That was part of your deal! If he was lying about that, JUST THINK, he could be lying about the power he's giving you too! He could be lying about EVERYTHING!"

The projectiles slowed to a stop and Adrien cautiously peeked his head out around the TV he was hiding behind. It was working. The Assistant was clutching her head, arguing furiously with the glowing butterfly mask on her face. This was an opportunity he couldn't afford to pass up.

" _Plagg, claws out!"_

"Nathalie, quick!" Chat Noir called, running up to her. He kept one hand on his baton, just in case. "Where's the akumatized item? Let me help you!"

"No! No, he's right. You promised. You told me. No," the akuma was muttering to herself. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking her head, obviously trying to get Hawkmoth out. "No, I won't. I do care. I won't hurt him! Adrien! Adrien, the tablet!"

The Assistant screamed and sank to her knees as she was punished for her insubordination. Chat Noir stared at her, seething, as he reached for the tablet that Nathalie always, always used.

 _He'd never seen her cry before. Nathalie had always disguised her kind heart with a cold exterior, but this—! He was gonna deck his father so hard!_

Just as he was about to break it, the akuma grabbed his hand.

"No," she growled. "I need this. I need it to do my job."

"And _I_ need to do _my_ job," he replied. " _Cataclysm!"_

"ADRIEN!"

Chat Noir and the Assistant both whirled at the new voice; he'd been inches away from destroying the tablet, and the akuma had just been about to attack him with another round of paper cuts. Instead, the projectiles flew at the newcomer automatically.

"MARINETTE!" he screamed.

The Assistant still had a hold of his hand—he'd never make it in time….

* * *

End Chapter 28.


	29. Chapter 29 - The Wall

_( **Warning:** these next two chapters have violence, some mild swearing, and a character death. Not gonna say who, though.)_

* * *

 **Chapter 29 - The Wall**

Marinette shrieked and dove away from the doorway she'd just tried to enter. Pain blossomed in her side and she gasped, instinctively wrenching out the projectile that had hit her.

 _A piece of paper? Wounded from a piece of paper? Oh, man, she was never gonna hear the end of this from Chat!_

She quickly covered her side, feeling warm liquid seep between her fingers.

"Marinette!" Tikki cried, swooping up. "You're hurt!"

"Just a scratch," Marinette assured her, clenching her teeth. "No time. Let's get the akuma. _Spots on_!"

"But—!"

Tikki was sucked into the earrings and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as the magic encased her. It didn't heal the wound, but she was all wrapped up now, so at least she could fight.

She didn't expect Hawkmoth to suddenly be behind her, twisting her arm behind her back and shoving her against the wall. Agony shot up her side when he dug his cane into the same place she'd been wounded. Ladybug screamed.

"Not exactly how I _expected_ to trap a Bug," he hissed in her ear, "but I'll take it!" He reached for her earrings.

"BOOT TO THE HEAD!" she heard Chat Noir shout, and then Hawkmoth was flung away from her—ass-over-head as he tumbled down the stairs. Ladybug slumped against the wall, wheezing and trying to catch her breath.

"Milady!" _Chat was in front of her. When had he gotten in front of her?_ "Milady, are you okay?!" he asked urgently.

Ladybug laughed weakly, still trying to catch her breath. "I love your new move," she joked.

"It's a work-in-progress," Chat said lightly, preening under the praise. "I've been saving it for extra-special assholes." He glared down the stairs at his father's still-prone body. Then he turned back to her, his smile disappearing. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just a paper cut. You know they always hurt more… than… normal..."

"LADYBUG?!"

"Sorry. What was I saying?" She shook her head to clear it. The adrenaline must've worn off already. See, no big deal! "Nevermind, let's get the akuma," she said.

"I already Cataclysmed the tablet," Chat said, anxiously grabbing her arm to keep her steady on her feet. "The butterfly is flying around my room."

"Makes it easier for me then!"

She easily caught the tiny black butterfly as it tried to escape into the hallway (flying right past them!), releasing its purified form with hardly a thought as they headed downstairs to confront Adrien's father for the last time.

She felt tired.

There had been a lot of emotional turmoil going on these past few days! Hopefully, it looked like all that was coming to an end. The old man had only just begun to shakily try to get up on his knees. Taking his Miraculous would be easy.

"Chat? Er—Adrien?" she murmured, lacing her fingers through his and leaning up against him. "I'm so sorry about all this. I built a wall between us, when I should've listened to you from the beginning. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course I wi—Ladybug, whoa!" Chat had moved away to face her better, and Ladybug simply slumped to the floor in the middle of the room.

Chat caught her just before she hit the ground, and watched in horror as her magic faded in a burst of pink light.

"I tried to warn her!" Tikki cried, as a puddle of red grew from underneath the girl. "The suit can't heal damage already done!"

"Call an ambulance!" Adrien screamed, his own transformation failing under his emotional distress. He looked frantically around. Nathalie was staring down at them, pale and weak from her own akumatization. His father glared at them a few feet away, still panting and furious. Thankfully, the Gorilla had recovered in a corner, and was already on the phone, dialing.

Adrien re-focused on Marinette.

"Stay with me, milady," he urged, pulling her into his lap and re-taking her hand in his. God, she was so cold. "C'mon, just a few more minutes! They'll be here! They'll get you help! They'll take my father away, just like we planned!"

"Adrien, you'll need to press on the wound," Nathalie said, coming towards them and looking anxious.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Adrien screamed, holding Marinette tighter.

Nathalie flinched back, tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm sorry… I…."

Adrien felt Marinette's cool hand touch his cheek. "It's not her fault," she reminded him softly. "She's… a victim…."

"Right, right," Adrien nodded. Just like all the others. Trust Marinette to remind him of it, even now! Ladybug and Chat Noir had made the decision from the start, not to blame the people Hawkmoth targeted.

"Nathalie, I'm sorry," he choked out. "It wasn't you. You're—ok, right, press on the wound—" Marinette winced as his free hand found her side and she buried her face in his neck. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, my lady!" he apologized, even as he continued to apply pressure.

"We keep… saying that… to each other, don't we," Marinette laughed breathlessly. "I—I think we should say… what we really mean. I love you, Adrien. I love you so much." She kissed his cheek.

Adrien felt a spark from his ring. He raised his hand, staring at it in disbelief. He had a feeling that if he tried to remove the Miraculous, it would slip off easily.

"I love you too, my lady," he said quietly. He smiled down at her. The smile vanished when he saw she'd closed her eyes. "Princess? Mari?! My lady! No, no, no, wake up! Stay with me!" he cried.

"She won't wake," he heard his father huff nearby. Adrien looked up to see the other man had gotten to his feet, using the cane he was carrying and sneering at them. "They never do," he added, glaring at Marinette. "No matter how much you call for them. No matter how much they claim to love you. They just keep laying there and bleeding on the floor."

A chill ran through Adrien and he clutched Marinette tightly. "I knew it. Mom is dead. What did you DO?" he cried.

"Your mother—no, _my wife_ was sick," Hawkmoth growled. "She claimed she _loved_ me. That I was her whole world. Then she suddenly wanted _you_ ," he spat, looking at Adrien in disgust. "I loved her, so I indulged her. Fine. A child. A _family_. A pet for her to coo over and trot out at get-togethers. 'Isn't he so cute?' And you are. You're _her_ child, through and through.

"That was fine, even though you took her time and effort," he snorted. "Even if she paid more attention to _you_ now, rather than me… and then! _Then_ she wanted another! 'He needs a sibling,' she told me. I refused. Even the doctors recommended against it. 'No more model diet,' they said. But she knew I needed her, so we waited. Season after season, and she kept getting more and more impatient. We gave you Chloe to keep you company, but that girl filled your head with talk of 'real school' and more friends. Then, I not only had to put up with my wife's whining, but yours as well!

"We found a Miraculous. I gave it to Emilie, hoping it would help, but she kept miscarrying. Then she was on a mad hunt for more magic jewels, to give her the powers she truly wanted. You were too little for globe-trotting, so she was willing to leave you at home. It was just us again! As it should be!

"And now," he said, his eyes gleaming. "We'll both get what we want, Adrien. I'll have Emilie back. And you'll soon be reunited with your precious _Lady_. I saw her kiss you. I saw the look on your face. Give me the Miraculouses!"

He lunged at them. Adrien suddenly felt Marinette's grip on his hand tighten. It was all the warning he got before her whole body tensed and she hurled her purse into his father's face. Hawkmoth paused, snarling.

"ENOUGH!" a new voice shouted. Adrien gasped as the Gorilla suddenly ran up and grabbed his father from behind, rendering his arms useless.

"LET ME GO, YOU FOOL!"

Nathalie darted over and snatched the tiny purple jewel from Hawkmoth's throat. His transformation fell away.

"YOU TRAITOROUS WENCH!" Gabriel thundered.

"You betrayed me first, sir," Nathalie said, as calm as ever. "I think you'll find it catches up with you in the end." He let out a howl of rage, but he was ignored. Nathalie glanced at Adrien. "Don't let her move anymore," she said. "I think I hear sirens. I'll go let them in." She left, not even sparing her former employer a glance.

Adrien stared down at Marinette. "Hitting him in the head was _my_ idea. Stealing my moves already, LB?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"It's just… such a good move," she laughed, wincing. "I think I passed out… for a moment there. Was he monologuing? Was it as bad as we thought it'd be?"

"Worse," Adrien laughed, recalling all those late-night conversations on how they thought the last battle would go.

"Glad—glad I missed most of it, then," she panted. "You should know… it sounded like… bullshit anyway. My parents… would happily adopt you… first chance they get."

Adrien laughed. "I might hold you to that," he said. "But for now, save your strength, okay?"

"'kay," she said, smiling up at him.

Relief flooded through Adrien as he saw flashing lights outside the house. Any moment now, they'd come in and help Marinette. They'd arrest his father and—

His father redoubled his efforts to get away from the Gorilla, twisting and squirming in the man's arms. Having been there, Adrien didn't think much of it—until he saw a flash and his bodyguard cried out.

Of course. Trust his father to carry a weapon on his person.

Gabriel clicked the taser off and spun on his son again, who just glared at him defiantly. The police would be here in a moment. The Butterfly Miraculous was with Nathalie. No need to transform. There was nothing the villain could do.

Then Gabriel Agreste pulled a slim, black object out of his pocket.

"NO!" Adrien screamed, recognizing it instantly.

Too late. His father clicked the remote, activating the security system again. The front doors and windows sealed themselves shut.

"Now then," Gabriel Agreste said, taking a deep breath and brushing back his hair in an effort to look composed once more. "The police and her rescuers will never reach us in time, even if you decide to transform, Adrien. The only way to save her is to make a wish. What'll it be, son?"

* * *

End Chapter 29.


	30. Chapter 30 - Rewrite

**Chapter 30 - Rewrite**

Adrien felt Marinette gasp and shift in his grip, but he didn't dare take his eyes off his father. He simply held her tighter.

 _Don't move,_ he pleaded with her silently. _I'll figure a way out of this, I swear…. Just don't hurt yourself more…._

"Adrien," she whispered breathlessly, grabbing his hand and holding it tight. "I'm… going to do… what I should've done… a long time ago… and trust you." Adrien looked at her wildly, belatedly realizing she was pressing two small, hard objects into his palm.

"No," he whispered back, eyes wide with horror.

She smiled at him. "My kitty… you've always been… my hero. I know…," she started coughing. Adrien panicked. _It wasn't supposed to be red! Spit wasn't supposed to be red!_

"Marinette!" he cried.

She gripped his arm with her last bit of strength. "Do the right thing," she ground out, forcing herself to keep going. "I won't… be used by him anymore! Don't make my mistake and be selfish!"

She gasped and winced, curling in on herself.

"Adrien—Adrien, I'm cold," she whimpered. He pulled her tight against him.

"Open the door, _please_!" he begged his father.

"And miss this touching display?" Gabriel sneered. "You know the price."

Adrien opened his hand. Sure enough, a pair of earrings sat there, right beside the ring on his finger.

Marinette went limp in his arms.

He bit back a cry. _None of_ _ **his**_ _tears would sway this man… but maybe, if his mother…._

"There they are," Gabriel hissed with satisfaction. Adrien closed his hand, just before his father could snatch the jewels. _Maybe, they could negotiate… would it really be so bad, if they had Mom and Marinette back?_

"Give them to me!" his father snarled, grabbing his son's hand and attempting to force it open.

 _Don't make my mistake,_ Marinette had said.

 _Do the right thing._

 _I trust you._

Adrien swallowed and kept his hand firmly closed against his father's efforts.

" _Tikki, Plagg_ ," he said, remembering the words his kwami had taught him for a ridiculous amount of cheese. " _Let the power come; I will command. Transform me_."

He'd once asked Ladybug what it felt like when she transformed. She'd said it felt like a warm hug, mixed with a soft breeze. His own transformation felt like static crackling down each of his limbs. Not unpleasant; more like a jolt of energy followed by the security of his armor encasing him.

This was nothing like that.

This was light and darkness crashing together. Heat and cold mixing and twining within his body. This was a howling wind, and the certain, horrible knowledge of the silence that followed. Gravity no longer held him down, and he released Marinette's body to fall gently to the floor. The form was familiar and beloved, but Marinette was no longer there. He knew this now with absolute certainty.

"Adrien! Adrien, my son! Look at you!" a voice called in awe. "I'm so proud!"

He turned his head. Ah, yes. The one he called father. The older man was staring up at him in joy, tears streaming down his face.

"Good, Good, my son!" Gabriel called. "Now, wish for your mother back! Say the words!"

" **No."**

"What?" his father's eyes widened in shock. "Adrien—"

" **I do not wish for that. I reject it. I refuse it. I CAST IT AWAY."**

His father gasped. Obviously, the weight of what Adrien had just done was not lost on him. Now, his mother could never come back. Still, Adrien narrowed his eyes.

" **Mother?"** he called. His father had done something, he could sense it. _Ah, there it was._ He'd tied her soul here, with her body. A simple spell. And one Adrien broke easily.

" **Emilie Agreste,"** he called again.

She appeared before him, as he always known her; strong and beautiful, but with a lingering sadness.

" **Rest in peace, Mother,"** Adrien said. **"I love you. I release you."**

"NO!" his father cried as his mother beamed at him and disappeared. "What have you done?!"

 _She is no longer yours,_ Adrien thought. He didn't dare say it out loud. His words carried power right now. Who knew what would happen if he said something careless? He gulped as he felt the pressure of the power in him as steady as ever.

" **Plagg? Tikki?"** he called. Instantly, they appeared before him.

And… just out of sight, he sensed more kwamis. No sooner had he thought about them, then they were there. Dozens—no, hundreds—of tiny sprites, of all shapes and colors. Their eyes fixed on him with big, welcoming smiles on their faces.

It was a bit overwhelming.

" **That didn't count as the wish, did it,"** he said, focusing on the two kwamis he knew best.

Tikki and Plagg shook their heads.

"Low-level exorcism," Plagg drawled. "Anybody could do it. Hardly worthy of a 'miracle.'"

Adrien licked his lips as the pressure around him continued to build.

The knowledge that he could do anything.

Literally, anything.

It sounded cool, but in reality, it was terrifying.

" **I hate this power,"** he choked out.

"All the best ones do," Tikki laughed.

"You gotta make a wish, kid," Plagg reminded him. "Either you command, or the power will consume you."

Adrien nodded. Plagg had been very specific about that when he'd explained before. He looked down at Marinette's body.

He could do it.

He had the power.

But… if he did… someone else would die.

' _Do the right thing.'_ She'd asked of him. And the very last thing he wanted to do was let his Lady down.

He couldn't. It broke his heart, but he couldn't.

Instead, he looked out at the sea of kwamis.

" **The Miraculous were made for the betterment and aid of all mankind,"** he said. **"So shall it be, now and always."**

"Now and always," the kwamis chanted back at him.

For a moment, Adrien focused on Nooroo, the tiny kwami's eyes shining with hope. _The right thing. For everyone._

" **I wish… for a rewrite,"** Adrien said, looking at Tikki and Plagg to make sure he was phrasing it right. **"Turn back time,"** he ordered. **"Back before Hawkmoth's first akuma."**

He bit back the pain as he realized everything that included.

" **Let my friends forget about me,"** he said tearfully, silently bidding them goodbye, **"if it means forgetting about the evil that invaded their lives."** He nodded, resolute. **"For them and everyone else affected by that misused power."**

" **TURN BACK TIME,"** he called into the void. **"Let us try again. Except—"** He looked at his father, who was frozen with rage and disbelief. **"—except for him,"** he amended. **"Don't let him forget all the pain and suffering he's caused. In fact, give him the memories of his former victims, so he knows exactly how they felt when he took advantage of them!"**

His father's eyes widened.

" **This is my wish,"** Adrien said. **"To pay for it, I offer everything I am, up to and including my life. So mote it be."**

"So mote it be," Tikki and Plagg repeated, bowing their heads. Adrien gasped in relief as he felt the power inside him lift and go to work.

The world started spinning around them, colors blending into one.

"Wait," Adrien called, looking at Plagg and Tikki pleadingly. "Can I just hold her one more time?" he begged.

"She's gone. And time has already started turning," Tikki said, shaking her head and giving him a sad smile. "But you should know she'd be proud of you!"

"And we're proud of you too, kid!" Plagg called, grinning at him.

"Thanks, Plagg," Adrien called back. It was getting hard to see or talk in the roaring wind around them. And he was starting to get swept up in it. "I guess I owe you more camembert!"

"I'll hold you to that!"

 _But I don't think I can get it in the afterlife,_ Adrien thought ruefully, finally surrendering himself to the pull of the storm.

He landed on his butt in the middle of the entryway of his house, right back where'd started.

WHAT.

Adrien looked around in bewilderment. _What the—he wasn't supposed to be here! He'd offered his life for that wish! Shouldn't he be dead? Had it not worked?_

Marinette wasn't here. There was no puddle of blood… (thank God). He looked down at his hands. His ring and the earrings were gone too.

"I think Adrien's snuck out to try to go to that school he mentioned last week!" he heard Nathalie's voice coming from his bedroom. "Today's the first day—oh, sir, you're both here! Sir?" She faltered, skidding to a stop as she and the Gorilla ran out of his bedroom, obviously to go hunt a certain teenager down.

Adrien's breath caught.

 _The first day of school. Stoneheart! The first akuma hadn't happened yet! His wish had worked!_

He looked over at where Nathalie had directed her last statement. There was his father.

Gabriel Agreste had fallen to his knees, eyes glazed over and a look of horror on his face.

Adrien winced. _Ok, maybe giving the man the negative emotions of some 50+ people hadn't been the best thing to do._

A glint of purple caught his eye and he blinked in shock. _Nooroo? What?_

 _ **Oh, shit!**_

 _All the ultimate power in the universe, and he'd forgotten to take his father's Miraculous away!_

"YOU!" Gabriel snarled, focusing on him. He'd broken out of his shock. And judging from the wild look on his face, all those extra emotions had tipped him off the edge. He lunged at his son.

Adrien let him come. He was gonna have exactly one chance at this! He ducked under his father's attempt to grab his neck and, instead of dodging away, reached for his father's tie. THERE! IT HAD TO BE THERE!

Sure enough, his hand closed around something small and hard underneath the fabric. He gripped it with all his might. Gabriel grabbed his arm, trying to force it away from him, while his other hand finally found Adrien's neck.

"I'll kill you!" he raged, tightening his grip painfully. Adrien grit his teeth and refused to let go of the Miraculous, even as they tumbled to the floor together. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"SIR!" Nathalie was shrieking.

"NATHALIE, HELP!" Adrien screamed. "HE'S GONE CRAZY! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"

It took both Nathalie and the Gorilla to get his father off him, and even then, Gabriel kept such a tight grip on his arm that Adrien heard something _crack!_ He cried out in pain, but stubbornly kept a grip on the Butterfly Miraculous, transferring it to his other hand as soon as he could, and quietly slipping it in his pocket in all the chaos. Relief washed over him when Nooroo darted inside his jacket.

In the end, the Gorilla had to sit on his father to keep him there until the police arrived. Adrien had managed to warn Nathalie about the taser and remote, and she'd calmly emptied his father's pockets while the man snarled and cursed at her.

It was mostly incoherent babblings of rage at this point, anyway. Especially whenever he caught a glimpse of Adrien.

When the police got there, it didn't take much to concoct a story.

Adrien simply looked at them and burst into tears. "I just wanted to go to school with everyone else!" After that, the story wrote itself. He showed them his arm (he was pretty sure it was broken), Nathalie explained how she'd witnessed Gabriel snap and attack his own son (the Gorilla corroborated her story), and his father was now babbling about magical ladybugs and his dead wife coming back to life.

The officers quickly carted him off, shooting Adrien sympathetic looks.

* * *

End.


	31. Chapter 31 - Epilogue

**Epilogue - The Lost Day**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nathalie asked as they sat in the car in front of the school.

"What else am I supposed to do?" Adrien asked with a wry grin. "I can't sit at home and mope about this." He indicated his arm.

"Hmm," Nathalie said.

Nobody had told him, so he wasn't supposed to know, but the police had found his father's Evil Villain Lair™, complete with shrine and undeclared-dead-body of his wife. They were now searching the whole property from top to bottom, tentatively labelling his father a potential terrorist threat.

Adrien didn't care. When they had found the vault, they never knew it was already short a Peacock Miraculous and sacred book. Those items had been returned to Master Fu last night, with the help of Nooroo, who was more than happy to be on the side of good once more.

The old man had been very surprised to see him, having just been out looking that very day for suitable Ladybug and Chat Noir candidates to combat Hawkmoth. Luckily, nothing had happened to warrant delivering the Miraculouses.

Honestly, Adrien was mostly just happy to hear that Marinette was alive and well (and made excellent macaroons!). He'd spent a lot of time last night with Master Fu, who was very interested in his story, including the wish, and was able to answer some of the many questions Adrien had as well.

Apparently, he'd kept his memories because he'd cursed his father into keeping his memories as well. _The universe had to be kept in balance,_ the old master had insisted. _He was lucky enough that it had taken him at his word as far as offering his life._ When Adrien had expressed confusion at this, Master Fu had outright laughed.

" _You offered your life, Adrien," he had said, his eyes twinkling. "Your_ _ **life**_ _. Not your death. Therefore, you must live your life, serving to protect the balance of the universe._

" _I never thought I'd see the day when I could pass on the secrets of the Guardians," he'd added, looking at the book fondly. "And just when I start to realize how old I've truly gotten, the universe sends me you."_

" _Me?!" Adrien had exclaimed. "You want_ _ **me**_ _to be the next Guardian? No offense, but I think I'm a bit biased against giving people magical powers!"_

" _I believe you've already signed up for the job," Master Fu had said, winking. "Don't worry. I've still got a lot of life left in these old limbs. We'll take it slow."_

"Adrien?" Nathalie called, shaking him out of his thoughts. He blinked at her and she nodded towards the school. "You're going to be late."

"Oh, right, thanks!" he grabbed the umbrella he'd insisted they bring and stepped out of the car. No matter if the weatherman only said 50% chance of rain. Today was the second day of school. He _knew_.

Or, at least he hoped, he corrected himself as his eyes landed on the bakery across the street.

 _Would they be able to forge even a shadow of the same bond they'd had before? Would she be the same? Would_ _ **he**_ _be the same?_

 _Breathe, Adrien,_ he reminded himself. _You'll see her soon enough. Ugh, the gum incident! He was gonna have to think up a better way to handle that—_

"Look out!" a familiar voice cried. Adrien spun just in time to see a head of midnight hair crash into him. They both went tumbling to the ground.

"Ouch!" she cried. "OMG, I'm so sorry—EEK!" she screamed as she got a good look at him. And his cast. "I BROKE YOUR ARM! I'M SO, SO SORRY!"

"No, it's okay!" Adrien laughed. "I actually got this yesterday. It's not your fault."

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. "Still, I'm so sorry," she said, helping him to his feet. He hung his umbrella on his cast so he'd have a hand free. "I wasn't looking where I was going and—hey, have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Maybe," he grinned _._ She frowned at him, confused.

 _Damn, no memories. Oh well. Can't have everything._

"You might've seen me around town," he suggested. "I'm told I have one of _those_ faces." He nodded towards the large ad outside the school, currently plastered with his modelling photo. It took a few moments for Marinette to get it, and once she did, she glared at him.

"You could've just said you're a model," she grumbled.

"Ah, but this way's so much more fun!" he said, shooting her a wink. The expression on her face was so much like Ladybug that he was having a hard time not bursting out laughing.

"Hmph. I bet you think you're hot stuff, huh?" she snarked.

"Ehh, I'm more of a cool cat, but you said it, not me, purrincess!" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Time to backtrack.

"I'm Adrien," he said, offering his good hand.

She took it, still looking doubtful. "Marinette. Are you new here?"

"Yup! Today's my very first day! I hope we can be friends."

"Hmm, horrible puns aside, I'll think about it," she teased. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think we're going to be late!"

"Let's run together, then!" Adrien suggested, grabbing her hand with his good one. "Oh, hey, did you bring an umbrella today? I heard it's supposed to rain."

"REALLY? Oh no, I left mine at home…."

"No problem, I can share!"

 _Or I'll just give it to you again,_ he thought. _It seemed to work out last time._

* * *

The End.

 _A/N: Big thanks to everyone who has stuck around on this wild ride! I'm sorry I couldn't respond to each and every one of your reviews, but 1K+ words a day really took a lot out of me. Rest assured, I loved each and every one of them. And ghost readers, I see you too! Your support is also greatly appreciated!_

 _I've been thinking about making a sequel (Adrien would not shut up in that last chapter and I ended up with a lot of content I didn't use), but I have several WIPs begging me to get back to them, so give me a bit of time. Let me know if you think you'd even be interested in something like that._


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